Pres. Bola Tinubu
Tinubu assents to DICON Bill, appoints RMAFC Federal Commissioner
President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Bill, 2023.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established on August 1, 1964, by an Act of Parliament and revised as the DICON Act in Chapter 94 of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2023, repeals the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act and empowers the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to:
(1) Operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.
(2) Establish the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute (DITRDI) to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialization and the development of new military technology and capacity in Nigeria.
(3) Provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.
(4) Incentivize the development of a nuanced financing architecture that enables private capital to facilitate research, development, and production in the defence sector in a transparent and predictable fashion.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023, was sponsored by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson (APC — Ikorodu Federal Constituency)
In another development , President Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ambassador Desmond Akawor to serve as a Federal Commissioner of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), pending the confirmation of the Nigerian Senate.
The new RMAFC Federal Commissioner, who represents Rivers State, is being appointed following the tragic demise of the immediate past RMAFC Federal Commissioner from Rivers State, Hon. Asondu Wenah Temple earlier this month.
Ambassador Akawor is a decorated public servant who has served the nation as Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Korea; Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Sole Administrator of the Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority; CEO, Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority, and Executive Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (Engineering & Technical Services).
The President tasks the new Federal Commissioner to deploy his robust experience across tiers of government toward the comprehensive reformation of processes that will ensure the most efficient and productive utilization of allocations to all three tiers of government in Nigeria.
