Director General of DICON, Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya the Chief Executive Officer of SP Offshore Nigeria Limited, Mr Obafemi Adekunle, during the signing ceremony held at the DICON headquarters in Kaduna,
By Amos Mathew, Kaduna –
Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has signed a joint venture agreement with SP Offshore Nigeria Limited, paving the way for local manufacturing of military hardware, including weapons, ammunition, fast assault craft, drones and security vehicles.
This was made known during the signing ceremony held at the DICON headquarters in Kaduna, in an efforts to Nigeria’s quest for self-reliance in arms and ammunition production received a major boost on Wednesday, as the
The Director General of the Corporation, Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, described the agreement as a watershed moment that would advance the country’s long-held aspiration to establish a robust military industrial complex.
According to General Alaya, “This memorandum of understanding with SP Offshore takes DICON to another level. We are now partnering with another Nigerian company to produce ammunition, weapons and even establish a jetty in Lagos where we can manufacture fast assault craft, security vehicles and other platforms critical to our national security” General Alaya stated.
He disclosed that within the next one year, the partnership would commence local production of ammunition, with plans to scale up to full weapons manufacturing shortly after. “This is a great day for DICON because this joint venture project will fast-track our indigenous capacity and help us meet the needs of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies,” he added.
Alaya praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the DICON Act 2023, which provided the legal framework enabling the corporation to enter such strategic partnerships. He also acknowledged the support of the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs for backing the corporation’s new trajectory.
In his own remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of SP Offshore Nigeria Limited, Mr Obafemi Adekunle, said the partnership would bring billions of dollars in investments into Nigeria’s defence sector, with technology transfer and capacity building as major highlights.
Adekunle stressed that modern warfare would increasingly hinge on technological superiority, adding that, “The next wars won’t just be fought with guns and bullets, but through technological warfare,” he said. “What we are offering the Nigerian military is deterrence capability the kind that puts fear into the enemies of the state and compels them to rethink any attempt to destabilize our country.”
He hinted that some of the cutting-edge platforms under the partnership could not yet be disclosed for strategic reasons. “A lot of things are coming, but we won’t reveal everything here because you don’t show your entire hand to adversaries. Let them discover it themselves over time.”
Adekunle also paid tribute to the DG DICON for his “record-speed administrative acumen,” and lauded the commitment of President Tinubu as well as lawmakers who championed the enabling legislation. “This alliance is more than a contract. It is a beacon of our collective strength, an unbreakable promise to safeguard Nigeria,” he said.
The joint venture is expected to not only satisfy Nigeria’s local defence requirements but also create excess capacity that could see the country exporting military equipment to other nations in the near future.
With the new deal, stakeholders say Nigeria is on course to drastically reduce dependence on foreign arms supplies, conserve foreign exchange and build critical local competencies in defence manufacturing.
