By Ngozi Nwankwo
Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria,DICON, has been enlisted as a beneficiary institution of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund,TETFund,with annual interventions to commence in 2027.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when the Director-General of DICON, Maj.-Gen. Babatunde Alaya, led a delegation to the Fund’s headquarters.
Echono said the approval was granted by the Board of Trustees at its meeting last week, formally admitting DICON into the TETFund family.
“Effectively, they are now members of the TETFund family, and from 2027, they will begin to receive annual allocations from TETFund,” he said.
He said DICON will now be eligible for the Fund’s intervention lines covering infrastructure, ICT, academic staff training and development, research, innovation and fabrication.
The TETFund boss advised DICON to appoint qualified desk officers with requisite expertise to drive proposals, monitor execution and ensure compliance with the Fund’s guidelines across intervention windows.
He said DICON’s programmes, particularly Welding and Fabrication Technology and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, are critical to Nigeria’s drive to cut dependence on foreign technical expertise and boost local manufacturing.
“Technology has become so advanced that you can programme your entire welding scheme, and the equipment can carry out the cutting and other processes, helping you accomplish a lot within a short time,” Echono noted.
He invited DICON to participate in TETFair, TETFund’s national exhibition of research, innovation and manufacturing scheduled for November, to showcase its capabilities and products.
Echono also said the Fund is open to collaboration with DICON in defence and security research, adding that the corporation can nominate a qualified researcher into TETFund’s National Research Fund screening and monitoring committee, which has a thematic area on military and defence.
Earlier, Maj.-Gen. Alaya said the visit was to brief TETFund on progress at the DICON Institute of Technology and seek guidance on its take-off needs following enlistment.
He said the Institute was created to build skilled technical manpower for Nigeria’s defence manufacturing industry and broader industrial development.
“The institute was established to address Nigeria’s critical need for skilled technical manpower in manufacturing, engineering, applied sciences and allied fields,” he said.
Alaya disclosed that the institute has been classified as a federal polytechnic with approval from the National Board for Technical Education,NBTE, for six National Diploma programmes: Welding and Fabrication Technology, Foundry Technology, Computer Science, Science Laboratory Technology, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, and Mechatronics Engineering Technology.
He said admissions are open with a carrying capacity of about 960 students, adding that basic infrastructure including classrooms, hostels, laboratories and library are on ground but more specialised facilities are needed.
“We have some structures on the ground, such as classroom infrastructure, hostels for both male and female students, laboratories, a library and so on. However, we still need to move beyond what is on the ground,” he said.
He listed immediate needs to include modern welding simulators, computing and networking facilities and mechatronics laboratories, assuring that management will develop a phased development plan with clear costs, timelines and measurable outcomes.
Alaya said DICON would ensure accountability, prioritise essential requirements and maintain facilities provided, with the goal of producing technically competent graduates for Nigeria’s industrial and defence needs.
