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By Moses Akaigwe
The Federal Government, through the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), has inaugurated yet another in the series of Automotive Training Centres (ATC) to be sited in different parts of Nigeria as the implementation of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).
The latest Automotive Training Centre located at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikotodu, Lagos, was launched on Monday, August 25, 2025, as part of its commitment to the council’s development of the Nigerian automotive industry.
Giving an insight into the ATCs in his welcome address at the ceremony, the NADDC Director General, Mr. Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, informed the guests that they were designed to provide training and skills development programmes for automotive artisans, technicians, and engineers.
Osanipin stated that the training centres would enhance capabilities and improve the quality of the technical services provided by automotive technicians, in addition to increasing the local content of vehicles assembled in Nigeria.
He gave an overview of the training centres to be built and commissioned across the country, saying, “In line with its mandate to promote skills development in the auto industry, the Council is constructing 21 training centres that cover the six geo-political zones which include; Kogi, Bauchi, Enugu, Osun, Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, Lagos, Jigawa, Akwa-Ibom, Plateau, Kano, Kastina, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Niger, Abia, Ogun, Sokoto, Cross River and Ekiti states.
“We are here today to commission NADDC Automotive Training Centre, Ikorodu, which has received its state-of-the-art training equipment/tools and has been installed.”
The NADDC DG underscored the importance of the centres to the implementation of the MAIDP 2023 recently approved by the Federal Government to build on the successes achieved so far in the industry.
This, according to him, is in addition to providing “outstandingly competitive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that automotive industry manufacturers/producers, assemblers, investors, developers and all relevant stakeholders need.”
The implementation of the NAIDP would also guarantee the generation of jobs, enforce patronage of locally produced vehicles by federal, state and local governments, Osanipin said.
The chairman of the NADDC Governing Board, His Eminence Chief Emma Eneukwu, and the Director General, in their remarks described the Automotive Training Centres as part of the success stories of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Chief Eneukwu, who from the day of the board’s inauguration in Abuja in July, had committed to the diligent implementation of the NAIDP, said the commissioning of the Ikorodu centre was a testament to the president’s drive towards industrial growth, youth empowerment, and technological advancement.
Chief Eneukwu said in his opening remarks, “This landmark achievement stands as a shining testimony to the vision and dedication of His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose commitment to industrial growth, youth empowerment, and technological advancement continues to move our nation forward.”
/The project will not only provide job opportunities for the youths but enhance skills among graduates / undergraduates and provide needed industrial infrastructure in the State.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investments, Senator John Owan Eno, said the establishment of the training centres was in line with approved policy on the automotive sector of the Nigerian economy.
The training centres, the minister stated, represent the efforts being made to ensure that infrastructures and human capacity building are made to match up with the content of the policy in order “to address challenges bedevilling our nation in the automotive sub-sector of the Economy.”
The Minister of State went: “The policy which addresses amongst other things increase in local production of vehicles, 40 percent local content as well as attaining the 30 percent locally produced electric vehicles, is also aimed at generating about one million jobs…
“Let me equally re-emphasize here that the Federal Government plans to build more automotive training centres to provide job opportunities, enhance technology transfer, boost economic activities, enrich our country technologically as well as cushion the effect of joblessness, indolence amongst other societal ills.
“I would like to pause at this moment to pay glowing credence and commendation to our young, dynamic and energetic Director-General/CEO, Mr. Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, for these laudable initiatives, since taking over the mantle of leadership at NADDC. My gratitude also goes to the Lagos State University of Science and Technology management for providing the land within the premises.”
Representing Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mrs. Morenikeji Azeez, underscored the importance of the project, noting that the centre could not have come at a better time.
“Lagos State has laid great importance on training Lagosians in modern automotive technology. This facility will not only enhance the skills of youths and technicians but also strengthen the automotive industry in Lagos and Nigeria at large. With world-class equipment, our students will now train with the same diagnostic tools and safety systems used globally,” she said.
The commissioning of the Automotive Training Centre at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investments, Senator John Owam Eno, followed the opening of a similar centre first in Adi-Ekiti in May, 2023, and another in Kano recently.
The location of one of the facilities in Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos was described as a strategic choice, given its role as a centre of innovation, trade, and entrepreneurship.
Ikorodu’s strong industrial clusters and vibrant MSMEs were also cited as critical enablers of the project.
At the ceremony in Ikotodu last week,some of the stakeholders present described the centre as more than just an infrastructural project,
it represents a collaborative effort between government, industry and academia to prepare Nigeria for the future of mobility while addressing unemployment and strengthening national development, they said
One of the highpoints of the event was the presentation of certificates and empowerment tools to some of the trainees, while one of NADDC partners, the Simba Group, displayed tricycles at the venue.
