Agency canvasses for automotive products

Federal Government should revive and sustain the automotive sector by patronising local automotive products, the National Automotive Council (NAC) has urged.

Furthermore, government should direct the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to ensure that local automotive products are given first priority in all government organisations.

These are the views of Aminu Jalal, the Director-General of the Automotive Council, who believes that the auto sector would be brought back to its feet if these suggestions are adhered to.

Mr. Jalal also noted that if all tiers of government and their agencies “Think Nigeria First” and buy Made-in-Nigeria automotive products, there would be a multiplier effect in increasing capacity utilisation, job creation and poverty reduction.

According to him, the United States Government is injecting the sum of $70 billion into its auto industry, expressing the belief that for the growth, survival and development of the Nigerian automotive industry, Nigeria must also consciously adopt a form of tariff system that would protect the domestic auto industry in line with the experiences of other emerging economies with a well developed auto industry.

Strategic importance

Mr. Jala said that the auto industry should be regarded as strategic because of its importance in the shipping, aircraft and road transport sectors, adding that the only way to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s auto industry is for the government to give some grants to the sector operators, as is being done in the USA.

Lauding the efforts of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in enforcing the 10-year age limit on imported used cars and that the same be extended to commercial vehicles, the council boss said that this will facilitate the domestic production of globally competitive components that will constitute input to the local assembly plants and ultimately made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

He, therefore, called on the government to provide generous incentives to encourage Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the provision of critical infrastructure to aid the realisation of its Vision 2020, adding that due to the ever changing technology in the auto industry, there is the need for continuous training of mechanics in auto macaronis and acquisition of modern diagnostic tools and equipment to keep them abreast with latest developments in the industry.

Hinting on the possibility of Nigerian vehicles running on Compressed Natural Gas he said this will require the political will and commitment of government.

“It is possible for Nigerian cars to run on gas within the next five years, but it will involve the building of gas stations across the country and also the conversion of vehicle tanks to the standard requirement, which will also involve some funding,” he said.