The National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, says it is establishing Automotive Park in Nnewi, Anambra State to address gap and develop the nation’s automobile sector.
Director General of NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo Osanipin, made this known in Abuja while speaking with newsmen on the activities of the Council on Nigeria’s First Policy initiative of President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
Osanipin, who said the Council has also mapped out other various programmes towards enhancing the growth of Nigeria’s automobile industry, called on investors and other stakeholders to support the initiative of Automotive Park towards realizing its objectives.
“We’re developing Automotive Park known as Nnewi Automotive Development Park and we’re going to provide necessary infrastructure so that the users of the Park will be able to share the facilities and they don’t need to have everything on their own before they can set up and this we’re working on and we’ve gotten to a point where we need some investors to come in and put in more money so that we’ll be able to develop it faster” He said
The Director General therefore advised Nigerians to patronize locally assembled and produced vehicles to create jobs and grow Nigeria’s economy.
According to him, the present administration will continue to provide an enabling environment for the adoption of electric vehicles in line with the Nigeria First Policy of President Bola Tinubu’s led administration.
He stated that the Federal Government has already approved the use of electric vehicles for workers which would be procure from local assemblers.
“The Federal Government has approved the acquisition of electric buses to be use by civil servants and those vehicles are going to be acquire from local assemblers here in Nigeria and also the Government has gone further to procure charging stations that are going to be installed in some parts of the country and all these steps are being taking to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles,” he said.
He explained that NADDC is providing necessary training to Manufacturers and other stakeholders in the nation’s automobile industry on how to put an end to importation of vehicle battery and tyres to encourage local production towards boosting employment opportunities and boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, for national economic development.
The Director General said the Council is working towards sending a Bill to the National Assembly towards strengthening the activities and programmes of NADDC to meet the current realities in automobile industry in line with international best practices.
He stated that NADDC is also working with the Bank of Industry, BOI, for the disbursement of National Automotive Development Fund, NADF, to qualify stakeholders as part of measures to develop the nation’s automobile sector.
While reiterating the determination of NADDC in repositioning the country’s automobile sector for greatness, Otunba Oluwemimo Osanipin solicited the continuous support of stakeholders in realizing the mandate of the Council for the industry.
