‘We never considered hiring foreign machinery as a viable option’ – FG 

The Federal Government of Nigeria has debunked plans of hiring foreign machinery to help address the insecurity condition in the country, adding that it has never considered it as an alternate.

The Federal Government also noted that it is not averse to collaborate with China in domesticating production of military equipment as a means of bridging gaps in that sector.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tugar, mentioned that the move become necessary to avoid the unnecessary delays associated with importing such equipment from foreign countries.

Beyond security, the Chinese government has expressed delight over Nigeria’s plan to float panda bond in China through its currency swap policy.

Part of the discussions during a joint press briefing on Thursday, part of the 

discussions on Thursday, between the Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs is on an official visit to Nigeria, where he came to expand bilateral relations and perfect the railway construction loans extended to the country.

Explaining the rationale for opposing foreign machinery, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Tuggar said private military companies, no matter where they are coming from, are not the solution to tackling the country’s security challenges.

According to him, “Nigeria has consistently proved effective in leading other countries in our region, and I would even say, on the continent at large, in addressing challenges to peace and security, and we do this whenever we partner with other countries and have their support, including major powers that are outside of our region, outside of Africa, and we appreciate that sort of approach.”

“And this is why we work well with countries like China. Where we have a problem is whenever Nigeria is left out of such arrangements, it becomes more challenging.”he added 

“It’s not just a one off thing. it’s not a fluke. It is because of Nigeria’s place and position on the continent and in our region, and that’s why we take a firm stand and say, let us work together towards solving our problems by ourselves. Let us shun this idea of allowing others to come in to solve our problems for us.” Foreign minister concluded