The Automotive & Allied sub-sectoral group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has declared that for Nigeria’s automotive industry to make meaningful progress and meet the expectations of the public, the new minister of industries, trade and investment, Adeniyi Adebayo must see and treat the automotive sector in a holistic manner.
Speaking exclusively to BusinessDay shortly before portfolios were assigned to ministerial nominees by President Muhammadu Buhari, Bambo Adebowale, chairman, auto and allied sectoral group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), stated that, the group would advise Adeniyi Adebayo, the newly appointed minister of industries, trade and investment to rank the development of local industries, including the automotive and allied industries as important as the encouragement of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
The minister he said needs to help the auto industry get support from Central Bank of Nigeria on forex, assist the individual and fleet buying public on vehicle financing from the Bank of Industry (BoI), engage with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) on easing imports, liaise with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for technical proficiency and further collaborate with the National Assembly and the Presidency on legislation and from fellow ministers on cohesion.
According to Adebowale, the Nigeria auto industry is a trillion naira enterprise if properly harnessed. He declared that, the harnessing takes a lot of determined collaboration with varying and varied interests and interest groups. The minister he noted will at times find that roles may and will sometimes be reversed.
For the automotive to grow and meet the yearnings and aspirations of the populace, the new minister according to the LCCI sectoral leader should see the auto sector as a whole industry – not just vehicle assembly.
Some of the critical components that make up the value chain with the auto sector business include other core groups like the clearing agents, dealers in both the new and used vehicles, developing the technicians with or without structured training, spare parts dealers, local manufacturers and entrepreneurs.
In terms of actuals and numbers, Bambo Adebowale stated that to get some of the issues sorted out properly, the federal government through the minister needs to understand that 193 million Nigerians are dependant on road transport in a country that has weak infrastructure and a fragile economy.
There are estimated 11 million registered vehicles, 1 million new car market, 500,000 regulated and unregulated technicians, 450,000 vehicle assembly capacity, 400,000 spare part dealers and 250,000 used vehicles imported annually.
Stakeholders also expects the minister to be bold in challenging existing policy or regulation on high import duty, on allowing 15 year old vehicles, on a lack of financing options, port delays, on vested interests especially the Nigeria’s membership of AfCFTA.
MIKE OCHONMA
