By Godfrey AKON
The National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, has called on the Presidency and National Assembly to support the implementation of the National Automotive Industry Plan, NAIP, to boost local manufacturing of vehicles and component parts.
Director General of NADDC, Mr. Joseph Osanipin, who made the call while speaking to journalists on Tuesday, in Abuja, said implementation of the plan will boost investors confidence to invest in the industry.
Osanipin described implementation of the plan as his topmost priority, stating that the council is committed to boost boost patronage of Nigeria made vehicles.
“We need investors who will have that confidence and faith in the policy and with the support of the president and the National Assembly, we want that plan to be enacted, so we’ll continue to push for it, so that by the time we have it not just as a plan but an act of Parliament, foreign investors will have confidence in investing into the sector.
“The NAIDP stands on seven pillar and these are what we want to implement. These includes drive investment; to boost the market by expanding it. Part of what I want to do is to boost patronage of Nigeria made vehicles and we cannot achieve that without the reportage of what our assemblers are doing.
“We know this is a process and we do not expect our local manufacturers and or assemblers to start but with the support of everyone including the media, we can make it faster. If we want them to get there without that support, it will take a longer time,” he said.
He stated that council also wants to encourage the development of component parts sector as in those days, cars get their tyres, batteries, foams and others manufactured in Nigeria.
“All these can still be achieved in Nigeria. Even though most of industries are dead, we intend to support them to revive. When we have them working, we would have increase local content and meet AfCFTA 30 percent of local content quarter.
On the use of alternative energy to power vehicles in the country, he said “With CNG, it’s a new technology for most of us because if you take a look at Nigerian roads, more than 99 percent of vehicles are still fuel or gas powered and this means if you have one precent using CNG, it will be insignificant.
“But we are moving away from PMS powered vehicle and this calls for serious preparation. We are preparing ourselves in terms of the standard and quality required, training, monitoring.
“On EV, we are trying to put in place necessary infrastructure EV may require more infrastructure than CNG. Even though it is capital intensive, we are putting our axe together and keep out heads high with the moving trends.”
Osanipin also noted that the council will not stop the auto credit scheme which it is trying to start, noting that one or two challenges are however being encountered before the scheme commences.
He added that the scheme is only made for made in Nigeria cars or those that are assembled in the country.
“We cannot afford to make the fund at single digit interest rate for car fully built from somewhere and brought in the country. We also have an auto fund where we support the manufacturers or cars in Nigeria,” he said.
