By Our Reporter The Nation
The Nigeria First new policy regime of the federal government has been described as a game changer of some sorts with the potential to turn around the nation’s fortunes for the better. The Director General/ CEO of the National Automotive Design and Development (NADDC), Mr. Oluwemimo Osanipin in this interview with Ayoyinka Jegede speaks on the prospects and opportunities for accelerated growth in key commanding sectors of the economy. Excerpts:
Why was the meeting with AMDON, a pivotal stakeholder in the nation’s automotive sector, held?
We had stakeholders meeting with the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), before now they have not been working together and for us to have a well-developed auto sector, all the stakeholders within the sector have to work together .We need the assemblers that will produce the vehicles, we need the dealers whose main responsibilities are to market, distribute and do follow up that is aftersales on those vehicles, their own is to distribute, market and sell but unfortunately before now they have not been working together but across purpose.
The manufacturers think the dealers are not operating in their interest, while the dealers also think the manufacturers undervalue their capabilities. Hence, we have to bring them together to let them know that they can complement each other’s effort and that’s the essence of bringing them together and also to let the dealers know that we need to regulate the influx of vehicles that are being sold in Nigeria especially pre-owned vehicles.
We organised the stakeholders meeting to intimate them of all these so that by the time we start implementing they will not think that we are trying to take their jobs away from them. We also need to let them understand the safety implications of selling some of the vehicles they are selling. We need to let them know that they need to have the history of the vehicles they are selling so that together we can prevent the importation of scrap vehicles into Nigeria. A vehicle that has been described as off road cannot be imported and sold within the country because they are not in the interest of the auto sector, nor are they in the interest of Nigerians. We explained the repercussions, the consequences of all these and luckily all of them agreed. I can tell you that the stakeholders’ meeting was fruitful. We have done something like that in Lagos, Kaduna and now we have just finished the one in Uyo.
NADDC has the mandate to encourage patronage of locally produced cars and of course, drive the implementation of the Nigeria First Policy signed by President Bola Tinubu, to enable Nigerians patronise made-in-Nigeria automobile products, hence the necessity to engage stakeholders in the industry to prepare their minds on policies that will regulate the automobile sector through registration of dealers, ensuring safety and environmentally friendly vehicles to be distributed in the country.
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Note that the Council is committed to ensuring sanity in the automobile industry by safeguarding public safety and protecting the environment, and henceforth all those involved in vehicle importation, distribution, and marketing must be registered and regulated to avoid flooding Nigerian markets with dangerous vehicles.
The registration of motor dealers in the country was a necessary step, as it would create the foundational enabling environment for the automotive sector to not only survive but to truly thrive and innovate, hence there is a need to let stakeholders know this.
The meeting was to fashion out the most effective strategy for implementing the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan and achieving its desired results. At the meeting I reiterated NADDC’s steadfastness and commitment to drive sustainable growth and comprehensive development within Nigeria’s automotive sector. We were able to get valuable contributions from the well-attended and fruitful deliberations which will help in shaping the future of our nation’s automotive industry. At the meeting I urged stakeholders to work together to sanitise the industry and achieve the goals and objectives of the federal government in the sector. I emphasised that the registration of motor dealers in the country is a necessary step, as it would create the foundational enabling environment for the automotive sector to not only survive but to truly thrive and innovate.
The Nigeria First policy, how has it impacted the automotive sector or how will it develop the sector?
The Nigerian First Policy, when the implementation is in full gear will have a great impact on the Nigeria automotive sector, because the major part of the government policy is to expand the market and you know that government is number one customer when it comes to buying automobiles, hence the patronage by government is going to expand the market. It’s going to lead to more sales of local manufactured goods and when you sell more you are going to produce more and with that sale it will be easier for the government to implement some of the policies that will encourage manufacturers to focus more on local components integration in vehicle manufacturing. What it means is that more patronage will lead to more production which in turn will lead to more jobs and the economy will be stimulated.
When you buy foreign goods, you are boosting the market of a foreign company, you are creating jobs in foreign countries, you are boosting the market of foreign economy but when you patronise locally made vehicles, you are providing jobs locally. It means there will be job creation, the economy is going to be stimulated, and foreign exchange is going to be conserved.
All these are part of the advantages of Nigeria First Policy, and not only that when you produce more locally you’ll have time to develop the local component. As a matter of fact the local component is the major stimulator of the economy when it comes to vehicle manufacturing. As more local components are produced, more jobs will be created, and the economy will be boosted. A lot of raw materials are going to be developed, it’s going to have a lot of backward integration that will lead to development of local components that are used to manufacture goods.
What is the update on the automotive policy considering the fact that stakeholders are weary already?
The auto policy is in place and being implemented, but we are working on legislating it by turning it into an Act of Parliament to boost investors’ confidence in the sector. It is passing through the final touches at the appropriate ministries before it will be forwarded to the National Assembly where it will be passed before Mr President signs it into law.
What are the legacies you would like to leave behind?
My legacy is to ensure that we develop local components; by doing so we are going to increase the percentage of local content. Secondly, I want to see a dynamic huge growth of the automotive sector’s contribution to the national economy. At the end of my tenure I want to see an Auto sector that will employ far more than what we are doing now. So I have the desire to develop an auto sector that’s going to generate additional hundreds of thousand jobs. It’s part of what we are doing now. The legacy I want to leave behind is to put in place a vibrant indigenous auto industry producing unique typical Nigerian vehicles of international standard, that will be affordable to Nigerians. Again, it is not by the number of assemblers that we have, it’s by the number of products that we produce. There has to be a significant increase in the numbers of vehicles manufactured in Nigeria.
Again, my ambition is to ensure that the vehicles that are coming into Nigeria even those ones that are Pre owned vehicles meet minimum safety standards, and I have started working on all these so that at the end of my tenure a well regulated automotive sector must have been established, just like all other countries in the world where the standard of vehicles used in the country meet the minimum safety standard, all these are being worked on.
I’m also desirous of a system where we can develop a lot of skills, within the auto sector in Nigeria before I leave office. We are going to develop a lot of people through training and make sure that the skill gap we have in Nigeria is bridged during my time.
How will you describe the future of mobility in Nigeria?
By God’s grace, my appointment as the Head of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) will open new opportunities in the future of mobility in Nigeria. This is because the NADDC, a federal government agency, has shown a commitment to embracing and developing modern technology for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) – powered vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs) as a sustainable alternative to traditional internal combustion engines (ICE). The future of mobility in Nigeria holds the promise of CNG and EV’s for sustainable, environmentally friendly transportation, and my leadership will undoubtedly play a significant role in this transformative journey.
I have articulated the remarkable significance of the federal government’s consideration of CNG and EVs and I believe that green energy would play a vital role in shaping Nigeria’s future of mobility and am delighted that jet motors was at the forefront of this transformative movement. This new infrastructure would encourage mass transporters to adopt CNG-powered vehicles and EVs for their businesses, providing cost savings of up to 70%. It would thus, reduce the dependence on costly petrol which has been a major blow to our country’s economy, and minimise maintenance expenses.
Moreover, EVs require minimal servicing, eliminating the need for monthly oil changes and the challenges of dealing with carburetors, plugs, and other components. They also mitigate the risk of purchasing counterfeit parts and alleviate the complexities associated with repairing fossil-powered vehicles. I have plans to put all these together and there is an opportunity for these visionary ideas and plans to be put into action. The optimisation of opportunities arising from market changes and government direction is now within reach. The goal of building local capacity for vehicle production demands dedication and continuous effort, my leadership is ready to ensure these.
How will you ensure that the percentage of local content increases by using more of the components produced in Nigeria?
The foundational thing that we need to do which we are already doing is to ensure that some components are produced in Nigeria and as I mentioned earlier we have identified those component parts that we can produce in Nigeria and we are encouraging more investors to produce some of these components in Nigeria not only for new vehicles but also for after sales component parts which is the major ingredient in vehicle production. And then we will ensure that we support the production of those components parts that we can produce in Nigeria. For example the auto plastic, leather makers and others, we’ll support them with an auto-friendly policy.
What I am saying in summary is that no country can boast of manufacturing all the components of a vehicle within the country. What is obtainable is to manufacture the components you have comparative advantage on and import the few you cannot produce. For instance, it’s not all the countries that have all the natural resources needed for producing all the components locally. So what the Council is doing now is to support local manufacturers of components parts with friendly government policies that will create an enabling environment to increase automotive local contents production in Nigeria.
This regime is pushing the CNG project, what’s your view on this?
Truly, CNG is the policy of the federal government and is the policy we are pushing because it has comparative advantages. CNG as an alternative means of energy is cheaper and cleaner when compared to PMS, and because it is cheaper it is an opportunity to reduce transport fare and because it is cleaner it is better for our environment and it is better for our society, and again if we have this in abundant it will boost the economy of Nigeria.
The Council has established some mechatronics training centres for training of auto technicians and also serving as conversion centres from PMS to CNG-powered vehicles, can you shed more light on this?
Yes, we have training centers. It is not only for CNG, it is not just for mechatronics centres, it is the training center that covers mechatronics, heavy duty, CNG conversion, everything. We have these centers and we have equipped about sixteen nationwide, we’ll equip the remaining, they are facilities that we know are difficult for some technicians to acquire, hence these facilities will be made available for people that want to do training. It will be used by us and other agencies. We have just signed a MoU with ITF so that ITF can use those facilities to do training for technicians, especially for automotive training. It is for us, it is for other agencies that want to train artisans, which are the purpose of those centres.
What is the core mission and goal of National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC)?
Our core mission is to revitalize and foster the robust growth of the Nigerian Automotive Sector. This endeavour is critical, considering the profound multiplier effects it has on our economy, from generating employment and building local capacity to enhancing infrastructure and conserving our foreign reserves. We achieve this through the careful initiation, recommendation, supervision, and regulation of policies and programmes aimed at promoting locally manufactured vehicles and components.
Our ultimate goal at NADDC is to cultivate an enabling environment where Nigerian-made vehicles of international standards can be produced at competitive prices, utilising our abundant local human and material resources, thereby positioning Nigeria as a leading automotive manufacturing nation globally.
Central to our core mandate is the imperative to regulate motor dealers. This regulation is not merely a formality; it is crucial for several fundamental reasons. It ensures the safety and environmental soundness of vehicles circulating within our market, actively combats the illicit trade of smuggled, accidented, flooded, and aged vehicles, and crucially, addresses the detrimental impact that unregulated used vehicles can have on human lives, our national economy, and the environment by effectively regulating motor dealers. We are committed to safeguarding public safety, protecting our environment, and nurturing a sustainable and responsible automotive market for all.
Furthermore, Executive Order 005 stands as a testament to our commitment, mandating government patronage of locally assembled automobiles by all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs). This patronage is not just a policy. It is a vital Pillar for the success and sustainable growth of our local automotive industry. To ensure compliance and robustly support this industry, it is essential that motor dealers register and operate within a well -defined and regulated framework. Moreover, to truly benefit from this government patronage, it is imperative for motor dealers to prioritise sourcing vehicles exclusively from local manufacturers and assemblers.
As we look to the future, exploring new market segments such as CNG powered vehicles, electric vehicles, and commercial fleets becomes paramount. Simultaneously, we must mitigate the risk posed by non-roadworthy vehicles in the market. The registration of motor dealers is a necessary step in this evolution, as it creates the foundational enabling environment for our automotive sector to not only survive but to truly thrive and innovate. The NADDC remains steadfast in its commitment to steering this transformative journey. Our unwavering goal is to drive sustainable growth and comprehensive development within Nigeria’s automotive sector.