Odita Sunday 
Nigerian Army Targets Local Arms Production, Deepens Partnership With TETFund on Drone Warfare
By Odita Sunday
The Nigerian Army has intensified efforts toward local production of military hardware with plans to strengthen strategic collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund in the areas of armament technology, drone warfare, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, disclosed this while receiving the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sunday Echono, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.
The Army Chief said Nigeria must invest deliberately in human capital development and advanced military research to reduce dependence on foreign military imports and accelerate indigenous defence production.
Shaibu commended TETFund for its continued infrastructural and academic support to the Nigerian Army University Biu and the Nigerian Army College of Management Science.
According to him, the institutions remain strategic platforms for producing skilled manpower required to support the operational and administrative needs of the Nigerian Army.
The COAS revealed that the Army would further engage TETFund in sponsoring specialised training programmes for officers in drone warfare, armament technology, robotics and AI.
He said the move was aimed at positioning the Nigerian Army to dominate the modern battlespace and sustain high professional operational standards.
Highlighting the changing nature of global security threats, Shaibu stressed the need for a “whole-of-society approach” that integrates academic innovation, technological advancement and military capability.
He noted that strengthening indigenous expertise in drone and armament technology would provide Nigeria with the intellectual and technological foundation required for local manufacturing of military hardware and long-term operational sustainability.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sunday Echono, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the Armed Forces in research, military intelligence, innovation and emerging technologies.
Echono acknowledged the contributions of military institutions to Nigeria’s educational sector and assured that TETFund would continue supporting initiatives capable of enhancing national security and development.
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