The Federal Government has said Ajaokuta Steel complex in Kogi State will soon start the production of military hardware.
The government said the ministries of Steel Development and Defence were set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement the production of weaponry.
Steel Development Minister Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, and the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, announced this after a joint meeting at the Ministry of Defence in Abuja.
In a statement by the Head Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Steel Development, Salamatu Jibaniya, the Steel Development Minister said the collaboration between both ministries would enable the country to realise President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of reviving the Ajaokuta Steel complex for several purposes, including military hardware.
Audu said the Ajaokuta Steel complex has various engineering workshops with the capacity to produce hardware for the military under the Defence Industries Cooperation of Nigeria (DICON) Act.
“Today, is a day that what we have all waited for under the Renewed Hope Agenda with the coming to fruition of a partnership between both ministries – the Ministry of Steel Development and the Ministry of Defence.
“There are a number of things we have agreed on, including signing an MoU, so that DICON and Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited can partner to produce military hardware, such as rifles, vests, helmets, and bullets, among other things, in the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.
“Ajaokuta has the facility to also accommodate a military barracks. There are over 10,000 housing units in Ajaokuta, of which only 3,000 to 4,000 are occupied.
“We will put together a quality Memorandum of Understanding that will be well implemented, and we are confident of the outcomes”, he said.
Matawalle said the agreement on the production of military hardware and a military industrial complex in Ajaokuta was in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He assured Nigerians that the Ajaokuta Steel Complex would soon take off and operate at maximum capacity.
The minister of state urged local partners to come on board to enable the complex achieve the current government’s aims of boosting local productions in various sectors.
“Today, we have agreed on so many things, including the review of the MoU signed in 2020 between DICON and the National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC), which would now be between both ministries (government to government).
“Both permanent secretaries of the ministries will come up with a draft agreement, and we will have continuous and regular meetings so that great ideas can be put together in the agreement”.
