Abuja: D7G Nigeria Ltd, an indigenous defence firm, has announced plans to enhance Nigeria’s defence capabilities by reducing reliance on foreign arms procurement through a collaboration with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON). Retired Maj.-Gen. Mainasara Masanawa, Director of Land Systems, Innovation, Research and Development at DICON-D7G, shared this development during a recent interview with newsmen.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, inaugurated the DICON/D7G Board earlier this week. He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to decreasing foreign arms procurement and bolstering the country’s defence industrial base. Masanawa emphasized that the joint venture aims to develop Nigeria’s military industrial complex to enhance national security, aligning with the DICON Act 2023 and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on security.
Masanawa disclosed that the operation of the company is self-financed, with a commitment to allocate 30 percent of its profit to the government from locally manufactured or assembled goods, and 20 percent from imported goods. In collaboration with DICON, D7G plans to establish Nigeria’s first military jetty in Lagos, covering approximately 160,000 square meters. This facility is intended to house stocks of arms and ammunition and serve as an assembly point for drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, 4‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬4 vehicles, 6‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬€š¬…¡¬6 armoured personnel carriers, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles.
The initiative also aims to develop human capacity by employing skilled retired military specialists, thus retaining and utilizing their expertise. Masanawa highlighted that the joint venture has already resulted in the production and assembly of arms at a Kaduna factory, ensuring these resources are readily available to the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies, with plans underway to develop their Lagos factory for shipbuilding.
During DICON’s 60th anniversary, D7G brought in eight foreign companies under its umbrella, aiming to leverage this collaboration to enhance defence production capacity for the Nigerian armed forces and other security agencies. This initiative is expected to save government funds by allowing transactions in both naira and hard currency, thereby conserving foreign exchange reserves.