Armed forces require 200m rounds of ammunition yearly – Minister of defence

The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello 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, Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Science and Engineering 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, & we see how local manufacturers are developing their countries.

But Nigeria, for 60 years has failed to build the institutions but that has changed, 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.