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Automotive Council drums support for local car parts manufacturers

The Director General, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin has called on the government to encourage the manufacturing and development of components and parts sectors in the country.

He made the call during a visit by the members of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), in Abuja, lamenting that those days cars get their tyres, batteries, foams and others manufactured in Nigeria.

He said all these can still be achieved, even though most of the industries are dead.

He said: "We intend to support their revival. We will increase local content and meet AfCTA 30per cent quota when they start work.

"The Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) is there to guide the sector, it is still a plan until implemented. We need investors who will have confidence in the policy and with the support of President Bola Tinubu's government and the National Assembly the plan will be enacted.

"We will 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 is a pillar we want to implement. These include boosting market through expansion, patronage of made in Nigeria vehicles which cannot be achieved without collective patronage.

"We know this is a process and we do not expect our local manufacturers and or assemblers to start and achieve in a short time, 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.

The DG pointed that the CNG is a new technology for most of us because for Nigerian roads, more than 99 percent of vehicles are still fuel or gas powered, this means if you have one per cent using CNG, it will be insignificant. 'But we are moving away from PMS powered vehicle which calls for serious preparation. We are preparing ourselves in terms of the standard and quality required, training and monitoring'.