DICON BOSS COMMISSIONS STATE-OF-THE -ART SHOWROOM

Major Gen. B. Ogunkale

In his determination to take the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON to greater heights, Maj, General Bamidele Ogunkale, the Corporation's Chief Executive and Director General has commissioned a State-of-the-Art showroom which is in line with "best global practices".



This, according to the Corporation's Director General is a part of deliberate efforts to reposition the Corporation.

General Ogunkale stated this while delivering his speech at the commissioning ceremony of the remodeled state-of-the-art DICON Showroom commissioned by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence Mrs. Nuratu Batagarawa, at the Premier Industries’ administrative headquarters along Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna.

"A befitting showroom aimed at showcasing the activities of DICON particularly to its external public or would-be international partners", according to General Ogunkale, "was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to the Ministry of Defence to urgently articulate a proposal for the establishment of Military Industrial Complex (MIC) of which DICON would be the epicenter".

Noting that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin was invited in January 2017 to commission some notable projects to showcase the Corporation’s readiness to key into directives and agenda of the President, te DICON stated that the management’s resilience to make DICON a national pride has not dwindled neither would the corporation rest on its oars until the dream of the Corporation’s founding fathers was fully realized.

“More recently, DICON went into partnership with Proforce Nigeria Limited for the production of indigenous Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Armored Personnel Carrier (MRAP-APC). The result of the DICON-Proforce collaboration has yielded positive result with the local fabrication of the much desired MRAP-APC with 20 percent local content”.

The DICON's DG further stressed that, with the giant strides taken, the corporation would be able to meet the urgent need of the Nigerian Army in the North East, where the nation was prosecuting an asymmetric warfare, adding that taking comparative cost benefit analysis and such step would help the nation to conserve foreign resources.

Speaking further, General Ogunkale disclosed that the corporation was fully set to commence the production of 7.62x39mm ammunitions as plans were at advanced stage to deliver raw materials needed to kick start production.

“The Corporation has also resumed the production of 7.62x65mm (Blankstar) to boost training across the Armed Forces training institutions as well as those of the paramilitary”.

"DICON is also at the verge of concluding the construction of its Primer Cap Factory sited at Kachia, which would in turn give credence to the independence of the Corporation in the Production of ammunitions".

He further noted that with the commissioning of a befitting show room which he described as a landmark historic project, the Corporation was no doubt making geometric progress in the right direction.