The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, disclosed that the Armed Forces of Nigeria require 200 million rounds of ammunition annually for their operations, costing the government at least $2 per ammunition.
He revealed this on Wednesday during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering (NASENI) on the establishment of an ammunition production factory in Nigeria.
He blamed past governments for the nation’s failure to achieve self-sufficiency in
defence production. “We have been travelling all over the world, and we see how local manufacturers are developing their countries. But unfortunately, Nigeria, for 60 years, has failed to build the institutions, but that has changed, and it will continue changing, inshallah.
Therefore, I make a promise to Mr President that as far as the MOD is concerned, before the expiration of his four years, I assure him that DICON will be exporting its military capabilities. All we need from all of you is prayers and your dedication. We shall look at it as our own baby, not just mine, but for all of us. Of course, if today we are achieving even 60 or 70% reduction in our military hardware and ammunition costs, considering that just the military requires about 200 million rounds of ammunition per annum, and when we include other paramilitaries and the police, we’re looking at about 350 million rounds of ammunition per annum.”
