Chukwudi Enekwechi

IT has been a long and tortuous journey for Nigeria’s first indigenous automobile manufacturer, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company Ltd, to seek and obtain justice in their numerous legal battles against their bankers GTB over a judgement debt of N2.4billion granted them by the Federal High Court Ibadan, Oyo state. The matter has lingered for about eleven years following a lawsuit instituted by Innoson against Guarantee Trust Bank over excess charges on their account domiciled with the bank.

Dissatisfied with the verdict GTB headed to the Court of Appeal Ibadan, and the appellate court upheld the lower court’s verdict. The climax of the case was the Supreme Court judgment of 27th February 2019 which also affirmed the Court of Appeal decision and the implication is that GTB is compelled to pay Innoson the sum of N8.7billion being the judgement debt with accumulated annual interests of 22%.

For Nigeria’s first indigenous automobile manufacturer the final resolution of the matter which has pended for years is a big relief as they will now concentrate on their land mark achievements of awakening Nigerians to the possibility that indeed we can lead the way in making Nigeria and by extension the African continent an industrialised region, especially in the automobile manufacturing sector. Hitherto it was unthinkable that a made in Nigeria vehicle was possible but with the emergence of Innoson on the scene, the story has changed.

It was as a result of the Innoson’s innovations in the sector that other automobile companies decided to open their assembly plants in Nigeria. Prior to that Nigeria was turned into a dumping ground for all sorts of foreign vehicles. Apart from saving Nigeria huge amounts of foreign exchange, the setting up of assembly/manufacturing plants by notable car makers like Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, Peugeot has helped immensely in employment creation for Nigerians, and will no doubt boost the capacity of Nigerians to innovate, as well as technology transfer.

Therefore,  for an indigenous automobile manufacturing company like Innoson which has won national and international laurels for their entrepreneurial achievements, the long years of waiting for justice has finally turned out not to be a waste of time and both parties have to sheathe their swords as GTB is expected to comply with the Supreme Court judgement without delay. The judgement is also a testimony that our judiciary is very much alive to its responsibilities and remains the last hope of the common man. Innoson being the flagship of Nigeria’s automobile manufacturing is already well positioned to prove all nay-sayers wrong that the white man is superior in intelligence, hence their attainments in the technological sector. Today Innoson is tearing the walls of self-doubt down and proving repeatedly that all humans are capable of reaching the highest level of technological development if only they try.

The proofs of Innoson as Nigeria’s pride are already showing in the performance of their vehicles in the Northeast where the military is successfully using various brands of their vehicles for the operations against terrorism. Presently, the Nigeria Army, Police, Immigration, Fire Service, Ministries, Departments and Agencies are using Innoson vehicles and have judged their performance very satisfactory. Therefore, as a people and particularly stakeholders in the industry including financial institutions, all efforts should be geared towards lending necessary support to enable companies like Innoson continue to thrive as the benefits to the Nigerian economy are numerous.

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With the recent expansion of their manufacturing plant at Nnewi, Innoson has continued to create jobs for Nigerians, thereby boosting the economic well-being of several dependants and families. So far the company has created direct and indirect jobs for about fifteen thousand Nigerians.

They have also equipped several repentant Niger Delta militants with relevant skills to enable them lead more purposeful and rewarding life, as they passed out from the Kiara Academy, a subsidiary of Innoson group.

Innoson is therefore an indigenous company that is committed to playing their part in growing the economy, empowering youths with necessary skills and helping the federal and state governments in providing employment to Nigerians.  With this patriotic disposition of the company, it presupposes that the federal and state governments must avail them of all necessary incentives to grow from strength to strength. Such incentives include tax reliefs, prompt clearance of goods at the sea ports, patronage and other protectionist policies against stronger foreign brands and competitors.

It is gratifying to note that the federal government is considering a 6% interest rate on bank loans to the automobile manufacturing sector in Nigeria as this will spur them to increase their production thereby creating more job opportunities for our teeming youths. Definitely the provision of single digit interest loans to automobile manufacturers is desirable and long overdue. However to successfully realise the objective the federal government must ensure prompt compliance by the relevant financial institutions.

In conclusion, it is important that Guarantee Trust Bank should speedily move to obey the judgment of the Supreme court to save their customers the stress and embarrassment of not accessing their financial resources based on the enforcement of the court order by court bailiffs and Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company Ltd, as this can lead to multiple lawsuits and escalation of the legal fireworks. This will not augur well for the image of the bank.

Enekwechi writes from Abuja via [email protected]