‘FG Committed to Made-In-Nigeria Vehicle’

The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Aminu Jalal has disclosed that the Federal Government was committed to the patronage of Made-On-Nigeria automobiles.
Jalal, who made this known through a statement by the Principal Executive Officer (Information) of the Council, Mr. Rasheed Bello and made available to newsmen in Abuja said the President, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari had repeatedly emphasised on the Federal Government’s determination to diversify the economy through promotion, support and protection of the industrial sector in the country.
According to the statement, the auto-motive sub-sector with sufficient capacity for mass employment was one of the major areas where the country had great potentials, adding that all Federal Ministries, departments and agencies procurements from the local assembly plants.
Except where the specification of the required vehicle was not among the range of models being produced by the various brand names in the country, the statement further said, and that the council is currently discussing with the government to appreciate the benefits of buying locally manufactured vehicles.
It stated that although it is difficult to explain the different instruments of the automotive policy, including the vehicle import tariff, plan aimed at discouraging importation among others, pointing out that, “Now that we have succeeded to a large extent in bringing back assembly operations into Nigeria, we are now focusing attention on local contents development and quality control.
“Efforts are now geared toward attracting international Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to partner with our indigenous entrepreneurs in setting up local manufacturing facilities”, it stated.