The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya says the Military is willing to partner with local manufacturing industries for the production of military hardware in the country.
He stated this as the Special Guest of Honour at the Training and Doctrine Command’s, TRADOC Research and Development Conference 2021, at its headquarters in Minna, Niger state, with the theme: `Enhancing Nigerian Army Joint Operational Effectiveness Through Research and Development’.
The Army Chief who was represented by the TRADOC’s Commander Major General Stephenson Olabanji, noted that the initiative would make the country self-reliant and also enable it to save scarce foreign exchange that could be channeled to other sectors of the economy in line with the Federal Government Economy Growth Plan.
He however, reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army in collaborating with renowned research-based Institutions toward realizing the noble objective of producing the required military hardware.
Faruk cited the example of the collaboration between the Defence Industries Corporation, DIC and the Command Engineering Depot which had led to the development of hardwares such as the “Ezugwu” and Conqueror MRAPS, the DSHK, Dashka Anti- Aircraft gun as well as the Rocket Propelled Grenade-7.
