The Nigerian Air Force, NAF on Wednesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, IVM, Nnewi, for the research and production of spare parts for its aircrafts.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar told newsmen in Nnewi, Anambra State that Innoson has helped the air force to keep its fleet of jet fighters flying for months.
The Air Force Chief who was represented by the Chief Of Policy and Plans, Air Vice-Marshal James Gbum, said that the MoU would further solidify collaboration with Innoson, improve local content and engineering and also save the country a lot of the scarce foreign exchange hitherto spent to import the expensive spare parts.
"Our war efforts will be in vain if we don’t do something to ensure that we get spare parts.
"For instance, we were down to one or two of our fighter aircrafts - the Alpha Jets that have formed the backbone of our struggle against Boko Haram - due to lack of spare parts, mainly the brake assemblies of these aircrafts.
"The Chief of Air Staff (Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar) immediately ordered our research and development cell in Ka’inji to start to research into this brake assembly overhaul.
"They went ahead, carried out the research, (however) the first proto-type they brought couldn’t pass the test.
"The Nigerian Air Force later discovered that Innoson Vehicle Maintenance Company at Nnewi are very capable of collaborating with the Nigerian Air Force to achieve the required standards of overhauling our brake assemblies.
"The company was invited to headquarters Nigerian Air Force for discussion and thereafter went into research and development collaboration with the Nigerian Air Force and the result was successful.
"To this effect, we have reasonable number of these Alpha Jets serviceable daily to fight the war in the North East.
"So, today we as representatives of the Chief of Air Staff are here officially to sign a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company.
"The Nigerian Air Force considers this co-operation with the indigenous company as very very important in producing some of the spare parts locally.
"This is in-line with the change agenda of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and it is also in line with the vision and key-drivers of the Chief of Air Staff.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, IVM, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, said the company has the human and technical competence to sustain the collaboration.
"When they (Nigerian Air Force) came to me, I developed it the way they wanted it and they are happy with it and that is why they are here again.
"It (MoU) is something that will move Nigeria forward because we can’t always depend on imported items; so we will always strive to do for them anything they want from us.
"The important thing is that if things are moving very well, Nigerians will see that it is better to patronise Nigerian products and services,’’ he said.
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