Ben Kalu asks Tinubu to sign defence, army trust fund bills

Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, has asked President Bola Tinubu to sign the defence industries corporation (DICON) and army trust fund bills into law.

Kalu spoke at the weekend during a retreat of members of the house committee on defence organised by the National Defence College in Abuja.

The deputy speaker said the bills were passed by the ninth national assembly led by then Senate President Ahmad Lawan.

“With the bill, there will be a stimulation of local content, in manufacturing the tools and the equipment needed to keep our nation safe,” he said.

“It is a call on Mr. President to do it and do it as urgently as possible. So that some of the funding contracts of the military at the moment will be converted into military industrial complexes.

“And I can assure you, there is a lot of value addition to what we do with our defence.

“So that the nearby countries will be coming here to purchase that which our ingenuity and innovations through technology is able to produce.

“The target is the nation’s security through industrialisation. This will stimulate our local economy and attract patronage from all countries in Africa and beyond.”

The deputy speaker said with the army trust fund bill, the army would not not need to rely on the envelope budgeting system.

“Gone are the days when you depend on envelope funding for the military and the armed forces,” he said.

“Many of you have said it here, over and over again, giving solid reasons why such a restrictive funding strategy is inimical to the core mandate that the military, the defence, wishes to achieve.”