The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has stated that the Nigerian Armed Forces need 200 million rounds of ammunition every year to effectively safeguard the nation and protect its territorial integrity.
According to him, this substantial quantity of ammunition will cost the Federal Government at least two dollars per round.
Matawalle made this announcement in Abuja yesterday (Wednesday, August 14) during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Defence, represented by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
The agreement is focused on establishing a domestic ammunition production facility in Nigeria.
He criticized previous administrations for their inability to achieve self-sufficiency in military hardware production.
However, Matawalle assured Nigerians that within the next three years, the Defence Industries Corporation will begin exporting military hardware, thanks to local manufacturing efforts.
