By Mohammed Taoheed
President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Bill 2023, sponsored by Hon. Babajimi Benson, the lawmaker representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.
Check by BlackBox Nigeria shows that the bill was originally passed by the 9th Assembly but could not receive assent from the former president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Benson, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, said in a statement that he had earlier introduced the bill because the corporation has failed to live up to its mandate prompting his intervention.
“This bill will strengthen this very important agency to provide the much-needed service for transforming the security architecture of our country, especially at a time like this,” he said.
“It will regulate local and international military businesses thereby saving cost in the procurement of military hardware and providing jobs for Nigerians.”
Recall that the lower chamber in the last few days has been calling attention of the President to the bill as seen in media reports.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale confirmed the assent in a statement on Thursday.
DICON was established in 1964 to provide the material needs of the armed forces and other security bodies in the country.
Worried about the state of the corporation, Nigeria’s then-President Muhammadu Buhari ordered in 2019 that the military and other security services should procure their uniforms and other kits from DICON. However, he failed to signed the DICON bill into law before leaving office in May.
