Buhari To Inaugurate Made-in-Nigeria Defence Boat in December

Awwal Gambo, chief of naval staff, has said president Muhammdu Buhari will inaugurate a made-in-Nigeria seaward defence boat in December 2021.

Gambo said his visit to the president, on Sunday, was to officially invite Buhari to launch the locally built boat.

The naval chief said the boat “will add to the set of vessels that we have for the protection of the Nigerian maritime territory against piracy, sea robbery, illegal bunkering and all other maritime crimes”.

Responding, President Buhari said: “It prides us as a nation that we can build something from the scratch to finish, by our own shipyard. So, it is a thing of pride to us,”

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Gambo made it known that the cost of building the boat said is cost-effective.

“It is unlike when you get foreign vendors to build or to supply the ship. It’s saving a lot for the country and going forward, we are looking at doing more of that within the shortest possible time,” he said

He added:  “We have the Democratic Republic of Congo, they are ready and willing to partner with us in shipbuilding and maintenance,”

“We have Badagry shipyard that wants to build a shipyard in Badagry. They are also ready to partner with us in maintenance and construction and most of the countries in the West Coast are definitely going to patronise us.”