By Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
The Nigerian Army (NA) has expressed the resolve to partner reputable stakeholders in the Defence and Security Industry for the procurement of requisite equipment and platforms, that would enhance its operational effectiveness.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja disclosed this on Tuesday 14 November 2023, during the Army Headquarters Fourth Quarter 2023 Procurement Seminar themed, “Implications of the New Central Bank of Nigeria Foreign Exchange Policy on International Trade: Challenges for the Nigerian Army”, held at the Army War College Nigeria, Abuja.
He added that Government policies are critically important to the successful attainment of NA constitutional mandate, adding that one of such policies is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent Foreign Exchange Policy, which has continued to have significant implications for NA contracts requiring foreign exchange. He noted that this development has resulted in requests for payment of variations, which he described, as unfavourable to the NA. He explained that the need to forge mutual understanding of the CBN policy amongst stakeholders informed the theme of the seminar.
The Army Chief affirmed, that as Nigeria’s contemporary security space continues to deepen the relevance of military logistics contractors in Nigerian Army’s sustenance plans, it becomes expedient to have the seminar in order to promote mutual understanding amongst stakeholders to help the NA aggregate value for Government allocations.
Gen Lagbaja maintained that the primary objective of establishing the Directorate is ‘contract and contractor relationship management to enable the NA obtain the best value for funds released to its contractors and business partners for execution of various contracts and projects, while ensuring fairness, integrity and transparency’.
