The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has approved the enlistment of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) as a beneficiary institution, paving the way for annual allocations from 2027 to support technical education, research and infrastructure development.

The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this in Abuja when the Director-General of DICON, Maj.-Gen. Babatunde Alaya and his delegation visited the Fund to discuss the institute’s development needs following its enlistment.

Echono said the approval was granted by TETFund’s Board of Trustees at its meeting the previous week, adding that DICON would now have access to the Fund’s intervention programmes.

He said: “Effectively, they are now members of the TETFund family, and from 2027, they will begin to receive annual allocations from TETFund.”

Echono explained that the allocations would support intervention areas including infrastructure, information and communication technology, staff development, research and innovation.

The TETFund boss however, urged the institution to appoint qualified desk officers to coordinate applications, prepare proposals and monitor projects to ensure compliance with the Fund’s guidelines.

He stressed that the officers must possess the relevant expertise to ensure that interventions were properly planned and implemented.

Echono also underscored the importance of DICON’s technical programmes, particularly Welding and Fabrication Technology and Mechatronics Engineering Technology, saying Nigeria needed to build local technical capacity to reduce dependence on foreign expertise and strengthen domestic 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.”

He encouraged DICON to participate in TETFair, the Fund’s national exhibition of research, innovation and manufacturing scheduled for November, to showcase its achievements and demonstrate the potential of its technical programmes.

Echono also expressed TETFund’s readiness to collaborate with the institution on research and innovation, particularly in defence and security.

He said DICON could nominate a qualified researcher to participate in the Fund’s national research grant and monitoring committee, which covers several thematic areas, including military and defence.

Earlier, the Director-General of DICON, Maj.-Gen. Babatunde Alaya said the visit was intended to brief TETFund on the institute’s progress and seek guidance on meeting its take-off requirements following its enlistment as a beneficiary.

He explained that DICON Institute of Technology was established to develop the engineering and technical manpower required to support Nigeria’s defence manufacturing industry and broader industrial development.

Alaya disclosed that the institution had been formally classified as a federal polytechnic, with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) approving six National Diploma programmes.