By Moses Akaigwe
The Federal Government has assured automotive sector stakeholders that it is working hard to put in place before the end of 2021 a workable auto policy that will boost local vehicle production.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, gave the assurance recently in his office in Abuja during a ‘meet the stakeholders’ forum initiated by BKG Exhibitions Limited with other automotive industry key players in attendance.
The auto policy {encapsulated in the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) Fiscal Incentive and Guarantees Bill} has been under review since 2019 following the decline of assent by the President to the document earlier passed by the National Assembly.
However, responding to issues on challenges confronting the industry as raised by the BKG Exhibitions team last week, the minister said: “I can assure you that we are not unaware of these problems and we have been doing our best to see how we can tackle them. I am sure you are aware that at the moment we are working on the auto policy and we are hopeful that before the end of this year, we will have an auto policy in place which will be presented to Federal Executive Council for approval.”
He further disclosed that the policy was part of discussions the government had with Original Equipment Manufacturers recently, hinting that the Afreximbank had accepted to fund the consultancy for the preparation of the policy.
Assuring the BKG Exhibitions team led by the Managing Director, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu of the ministry’s support, Adebayo said, “The auto industry is a sector that our ministry is very interested in, because we know that it portends a lot for the future of this country in terms of employment for our teeming youths we will support its growth and development.”
He strongly assured that the government is working hard to adequately address to challenges of the industry.
Earlier, while explaining the mission of his team, Agwu had commended the minister for receiving them and giving a listening ear to the stakeholders in the industry.
He said the auto sector is very key to the country’s development, stressing that it has the potentials of huge employment generation and revenue earning through duties and other direct and indirect taxes.
Agwu counseled that the rising inflation in the country could be addressed if the government gets it right by ensuring that the automotive sector is soon revived as goods and services are often transported through the sector.
The BKG Exhibitions Managing Director further pointed out that Nigeria’s auto sector is huge as it holds the highest number of auto brand representatives in the whole of Africa.
He warned that countries like Ghana are positioning to overtake Nigeria as the hub of the automotive market in the continent owing to Nigeria’s policy inconsistency and lack of legal framework.
He added, “I don’t think that there is any country in Africa that has the number of auto brands representatives that Nigeria has, not South Africa, not even Egypt. But still, these people are selling to us.
“Some of the brands go to South Africa to buy and sell to us, but that is what Nigeria should be doing, because first we have the internal market, and then we have the capacity to support the sector to sell to other African markets. But we are not doing that and it is going bad, really bad.”
He further warned that if the government does not make haste to tinker with the policies to help grow the industry in Nigeria, automakers move go to Ghana and set up plants from where they would be sending vehicles to the Nigerian market.
Agwu also warned that China is planning to start shipping used cars otherwise known as tokunbo into Nigeria, adding that if that happens, it may not augur well for the country.
BKG Exhibitions Limited is the organiser of the Abuja International Motor Fair which has been held since 1998, as well as the Lagos Motor Fair and the twin Autoparts Africa Expo.
Meanwhile, BKG Exhibitions has announced that Abuja International Motor Fair which will be having its 21st edition this year, will hold from November 15 to 20, 202, at the International Conference Centre Annex, Abuja.