By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives has called on President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of national importance, assent to the two Bills recently reintroduced and passed by the Assembly to aid the ongoing fight against insecurity in the country.
The House is of the opinion that assenting the Bills, would provide support for the Armed Forces and the Defence.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, DICON Bill and the Armed Forces Trust Fund Bill, were passed during the previous administration by the 9th Assembly but could not receive assent from the former president, Muhammad Buhari.
The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu made the call at the weekend while speaking at the closing ceremony of a 2-day post-inauguration retreat organized for members of the House Committee on Defence by the National Defence College, Abuja.
He said, President Tinubu usually gives attention to activities of the National Assembly, stressing that the Nigerian leader would ensure that the bills do not suffer under this dispensation.
He assured Nigerians that the 10th House would continue to work for the overall good of the citizens of the country.
Kalu stressed that the security of the lives and properties of Nigerians is one of the significant mandates of the government.
The Deputy Speaker further assured that the lawmakers would ensure that all needed logistics that will effectively energize the work of the Armed Forces are in place.
Speaking on the DICON Bill, Kalu said, “With the Bill, there will be a stimulation of local content in manufacturing the tools and equipment needed to keep our nation safe.
“It is a call on Mr. President to do it as urgently as possible. So, some of the funding contracts of the military at the moment will be converted into military-industrial complexes.
“And I can assure you, 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 are able to produce”
