Aganga Inaugurates Panels For Auto Policy

The Minister of  Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, has constituted two standing committees to ensure a seamless implementation of the recently approved National Automotive Industry Development Plan.

This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Monday by Mr. Bello Rasheed, the Principal Executive Officer, Information, the National Automotive Council.

According to the statement, the first of the committees is the Automotive Industry Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee with members drawn from broad-based industry stakeholders.

They include the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers/Assemblers Association, the Automobile Local Content Manufacturers Association and the Automotive Dealers Group of the National Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

Others are the Nigeria Customs Service; the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; the Federal Ministry of Finance; the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Consumer Protection Council.

The Implementation and Monitoring Committee are the Directorate of Road Traffic Administration; Automobile Franchise Holders such as Mercedez Benz, Kia, Suzuki, CFAO, Toyota, Volvo, Globe Motors, Dana, Balyn Motors, Metropolitan Motors, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, among others.

The statement names the second as the Inter-Agency Implementation Committee made up of representatives from relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies including the Federal Ministries of Power, Solid Minerals and Finance.

Others are the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Bank of Industry, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, SON, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, among others.

The statement quoted the Director General of NAC, Mr. Aminu Jalal, as saying both committees were to meet quarterly to enable them to progressively monitor and evaluate the implementation stages of the policy.