Defence contract: Drones, helicopters from Turkey to arrive Nigeria soon, says ambassador

Hidayet Bayraktar, Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, says drones and helicopters from Turkey will soon arrive in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen the security architecture of the country.

Bayraktar spoke on Saturday during the commemoration of the 99th national day of the Republic of Turkey, at an event held in Abuja.

In August 2021, Bayraktar had said there would be collaborations between Nigeria and Turkey in various sectors, including security.

As of July 2022, the federal government was said to have procured six attack helicopters from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

According to NAN, the ambassador described the security support from Turkey to Nigeria as an achievement from the defence cooperation  contract signed by both countries in 2021.

He said Turkey is set to extend support to Nigeria in its efforts to counter security threats, by sharing experience, technical expertise, and technology.

“The defence contracts signed between our countries last year, marked a historical record,” he said.

“Taking this opportunity, I am proud to announce that two of our flagship defence industry platforms, Bayraktar (TB-2) drones and (T-149) ATAK helicopters, are set to arrive Nigeria.

“We are confident that new Turkish defence products will support the efforts of the Nigerian government and contribute immensely to the peace, prosperity, and security of fellow Nigerians.

“Remaining as the sole obstacle hindering our bilateral relations to develop further, we call Nigeria not to let terror groups undermine our excellent ties, by allowing this terrorist group to fund their illegal aims and activities, by generation of revenues in this country.”

On the bilateral relations between both countries, Bayraktar said he was very proud that there have been achievements in the bilateral relations between Turkey and Nigeria.

He also highlighted the visits of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Nigeria as well as President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Turkey.

“These mutual high-level visits have provided the opportunity to underline our shared goal of strengthening our bilateral ties in every field, especially in terms of commerce, defence industry, energy, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, education, tourism, and culture,” he said.

“With its steady growth over the last decade and by emerging as an economic powerhouse in its region, Türkiye expressed its readiness to share its development experience with African states, to broaden and strengthen its cooperation in different areas.

“Today, Turkish business people, some of whom are present here tonight, are investing in numerous sectors, from fast-moving-consumer-goods to construction, from healthcare to transportation, from energy to agriculture.

“With the current pace of increasing commercial relations, I am confident that we will soon achieve our target of $5 billion of bilateral trading volume with Nigeria, which remains as one of our top trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa.”