The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Airforce Institute of Technology (AFIT) Kaduna has received a new challenge from President Muhammadu Buhari to complete the ongoing production of the first Nigerian-made helicopter before the conclusion of his term.
When he led a team of NASENI staff members on a visit to the site of NASENI’s new Aeronautics and Air Vehicle Development Institute(AAVDI), which is located in AFIT and houses the Made in Nigeria Helicopter project, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, revealed this at AFIT Kaduna.
Before May 29, 2023, when the current administration is set to end, President Buhari hoped for an official launch of the helicopter, according to Prof. Haruna.
President Buhari expressed a particular interest in the completion of work on the Made in Nigeria Helicopter during the NASENI quarterly briefing of Mr. President by the EVC/CE on the activities of the Agency last week, according to the NASENI Executive Vice Chairman during a meeting with the newly appointed commandant of AFIT Air Vice Marshal Paul Olugbeji Jemitola today in Kaduna.
He claimed that President Buhari explicitly inquired about the project’s current work, showing that the President was concerned about the importance of completing the Helicopter project’s manufacturing work.
In response to the Commandant of AFIT, Air Vice Marshal Jemitola stated that the task of carrying out the instruction from Mr. President “must be done upon conclusion of work on the project.
He stated that “no stone would be left unturned” in order to complete the task and fulfill the President’s wish for the helicopter project.
He stated, “NASENI has historically played a significant role in the development of several facilities in AFIT while praising the proactiveness and dynamism with which NASENI today approaches its work.”
The project’s importance, the current Memorandum of Understanding between NASENI and AFIT, and the presidential challenge, he said, “all coalesced to make the presidential challenge worthwhile.”
The EVC/CE went on to say that “the Aeronautics and Air Vehicle Equipment Development Institute located at AFIT Kaduna is one of the new institutes of NASENI sanctioned by President Buhari,” further elaborating on the significance of AAVDI as a NASENI emerging institute.
The institute’s mandate is to conduct research and create aerospace and air vehicle technologies’ replacement parts, systems, and components.
Through backward integration, it must create both civilian and military aircraft.
The first Made in Nigeria Helicopter is currently being transported to AAVDI, and it is the Center of NASENI Helicopter Project Assembly.
The purpose of the trip was to take control of the construction site, design it, and plan how to get started on the project more quickly.
The EVC stated that “technologies prospecting for domestication from our counterpart agencies across the world for aircraft manufacturing will have pilot plants for realization here in Kaduna and the facilities will be designed to provide machineries, equipment, laboratories, and workshops to be shared with AFIT and Nigerian Airforce.”
Regarding the second project that the EVC/CE examined, he stated that the Federal Government has a plan to build industrial parks for the automotive industries in three regions of the nation: Nnewi in the state of Anambra, Osogbo in the state of Osun, and Igabi in the state of Kaduna.
The project effort adheres to the idea put forth by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment when it first suggested creating the Automotive Supplier Industrial Park (ASIP).
This idea is in line with NASENI’s mandate to provide and develop the primary and intermediate capital projects necessary for the design, fabrication, and mass manufacturing of machines and equipment in order to create a conducive environment for the nation’s sustainable industrialization.
According to Professor Haruna, the initiative aimed to develop the manufacturing sector’s potential as well as the auto industry’s opportunities in order to generate skilled labor and jobs in this region and sub-Saharan Africa. It is anticipated to generate foreign money for the nation and end the importing of auto parts.
Major automakers from various nations have expressed interest in using this site as their base of operations. Additionally, it aimed to give the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company the assistance it needs to produce armored vehicles.
The vehicle park will become financially self-sufficient and a source of revenue for the government once it is fully occupied and outfitted.
The Provost of AFIT Prof. Mohammed Dauda, the Registrar, Air Commodore Oluokun, the Deans, Directors, and Heads of Departments were among the top management staff who met with the EVC/CE and his team and conducted the inspection of AFIT facilities.
