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Moses Akaigwe
The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) says it has keyed into President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s economic development policy of diversifying from crude oil into agricultural, industry, mining and tourism sectors.
The Director General, Jelani Aliyu, disclosed this recently in his office in Abuja, saying the agency is doing this by implementing the five key elements of the National Automotive Industrial Development Plan (NAIDP), namely investment promotion, infrastructural development, improvement of standard, skills and market development
He stated that rigorous implementation of the development plan is gradually leading to the creation of jobs, which is also top on the present government’s agenda.
Aliyu explained that as one of the 17 parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment saddled with responsibility of developing local automotive, NADDC is pursuing the key elements of NAIDP to revive, develop and sustain local auto industry in terms of production of vehicles and their components.
He further remarked: “So, when we talk about NAIDP, the important pillar is skills development. As you are aware, the present administration is committed to lifting 100 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years, and we can achieve that by creating jobs, building more industries, and getting people engaged in more productive lives.
“That is why we are building seven training centres in each geo-political zone of the country, so as to empower the youth across the country. We are far in those projects and some of the centres have already been completed and are in the process of getting all the necessary equipment in place and those that haven’t been completed would be completed soon.”
Jelani further said the council is constructing three automotive hubs in Sokoto, Ondo and Owerri, which would be equipped with all the necessary equipment and highly professional staff who will be able to diagnose any vehicle, maintain or repair it, right there. “So with such projects, I can say that we have 10 very important projects that are contributing towards fulfilling President Buhari’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.”
Regarding investment promotion, the council, according to him, has been working with local and international companies to set up assembly and production plants in Nigeria in line with the goals of the NAIDP.
As a result of this, billions of US dollars have been invested in the country, while a number of automotive plants have been set up or revived by companies, such as Honda, PAN Nigeria {Peugeot}, Innoson, Nissan, ANAMMCO, Dangote Trucks, which are now assembling vehicles in the country.
“We will continue to promote that investment. We are also talking with the Volkswagen Group which we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with. We are also discussing with other big international players to come into the country and produce vehicles locally,” Jelani added.
On infrastructure development, the DG disclosed: “NADDC is working towards the construction of three automotive industrial parks in Kaduna, Ode-Omu and Nnewi. These parks would be centralised locations with all the necessary infrastructures, such as electricity, water connectivity and other resources to make it easier for companies to come in and set up an industrial facilities within these parks.
“Each of the parks would be a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project initiative. We are working closely with the relevant stakeholders and we believe these will be locations that will enhance and allow us to actualize local content development target and would enable us develop more components locally.
Aliyu identified another NAIDP pillar as the homologation of the improvement of standard, stating “as you are aware, the automobile is a very complex machine with many different components that all come together to create that machine, and it is imperative that Nigerians are protected.
“It is important that any spare part that they use must meet minimum global standard, which unfortunately, isn’t the case now. As I speak, in our efforts to protect the Nigerian public, we have almost completed the construction of three automotive testing centres in Zaria, Lagos and Enugu.’’
He disclosed that the projects would be completed before the end of this year, assuring that any spare part that has not been tested by any one of the these centres, would be deemed sub- standard or illegal – all in the council’s efforts to make sure that the vehicles and the components are not just available in Nigeria, but are also safe and efficient.
Market development is also a component the NAIDP is pursuing, because, according to Aliyu, one thing is to build a vehicle, but it is another thing for people to be able to buy these vehicles, adding that to achieve this, NADDC has set aside billions of naira.
“We are working with Wema, Zenith and Jaiz banks to provide an automotive financing for made-in-Nigeria vehicles at a single digit interest rate of between six and eight percent, so that Nigerians can put down just 10 percent and drive off in a brand new made-in-Nigeria vehicle and pay over a period of five years,” Aliyu said, explain that the arrangement would help Nigerians drive brand new vehicles instead of opting for “old and dilapidated imported.”
In addition to these five key areas of NAIDP, the NADDC is also working with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources on a programme of converting diesel vehicles to gas, because “as you are aware, Nigeria has a huge reserve of gas which, most times, it has to even pay for it to be flared. We are working with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum and all stakeholders to ensure we set up a production plant for kits that will be used in converting diesel trucks to run on gas.’’
The Director General said his council has also been working with the relevant stakeholders to launch ‘The NADDC Mechanics Finding App’, so that people can easily differentiate between professional mechanic and those who have sub-standard workshops.
“In a nutshell what NADDC does when you look at NAIDP, is creating and developing a comprehensive eco- system that will support the development of sustainability of manufacturing within Nigeria.”
The Council is working with the National Assembly, parent Ministry and Presidency to further review the Automotive Policy by setting up some fiscal incentives that will promote local production and discourage importation of used vehicles.
“We believe Nigerians deserve vehicles that are new, modern, safe and efficient and the only way to do that is by promoting local manufacturers and discourage importation of what could be dangerous to the Nigerian public.
“So, the Automotive Policy will provide 10 year tax holiday to any new company that will produce vehicles in Nigeria, as this will encourage local production and discourage importation of vehicles as envisaged in Executive Order 03 and 05 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, among others.”
