Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, has told the country’s military that purchasing military hardware from other nations puts the country at a disadvantaged position, capable of compromising its security.
A statement from the bureau Wednesday said the Director-General, Mr Mamman Ahmadu, said this when the Director of Procurement, Defence Headquarters, paid him a courtesy call.
Mr Ahmadu opined that the development of internal capacity in the military was key to building a virile military base that would lead the country into a nation taken seriously by the rest of the world.
“Military hardware purchased from other nations puts the country at a disadvantaged position which can compromise the country’s security.
“This is due to the fact that the basic technology is resident in the country of procurement which may be unwilling to easily avail other nations fully of such technology.
“Building a military industrial complex in order to design and produce indigenous military hardware will reduce reliance on sourcing spares from other nations and thus abate the possibility of exposing the nation’s military flanks to enemies in time of emergency,” he said.
Mr Ahmadu commended Nigeria military’s strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act, 2007 in all its procurement contracts.
In response, the Director of Procurement, Defence Headquarters, Maj-Gen Julius Oni, said a lot of research and development was needed before the military would be ready to go into production of military hardware.
“Privately owned companies in Nigeria must be encouraged to be able to produce military equipment; it is not something the military can handle alone,” he said.
