The Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, has inaugurated the newly constituted Governing Board of the National Automotive Design and Development Council.
He urged the 12-member board, chaired by Chief Emma Eneukwu to approach their duties with dedication, diligence, and a forward-thinking approach
Speaking at the Inauguration of the Governing Board Council held on Wednesday in Abuja, the minister charged members to drive the growth and development of the Nigerian automotive industry.
“We are going to give it a serious push,” Senator Enoh said, referring to the government’s interest in the industry’s growth.
“The president has indicated so much interest in it, it’s a work in progress. So anything we desire, the president will give us,” he said.
The Chairman of the Governing Board expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointment and pledged to work with patriotic resolve and strategic foresight to reposition Nigeria as a major hub for automotive manufacturing, assembly, innovation, and technology in Africa.
Eneukwu, who is also the All Progressives Congress Deputy National Chairman (South), said that the automotive sector under the mandate of the NADDC is strategically positioned to deliver the goals.
“We will work with patriotic resolve and strategic foresight to reposition Nigeria as a major hub for automotive manufacturing, assembly, innovation, and technology in Africa.
‘Our task is to work with patriotic resolve and strategic foresight to reposition Nigeria as a major hub for automotive manufacturing, assembly, innovation, and technology in Africa,” Eneukwu said.
Similarly at the Inauguration, the Director General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, emphasised that the focus is on increasing production volume, rather than the number of production plants.
“It is not the number of production plant that really matters, but the production volume of a particular plant.
“We want to boost the volume of production, not actually the number of people manufacturing.
“The production volume has increased significantly since the DG took office, with the number of new assembly vehicles produced annually doubling from 3,000 to 4,000 to close to 12,000 before 2024.
“Before we came in, at the time we were doing about 3,000 to 4,000, which has increased now, we have done close to 12,000 before 2024,” Osanipin said.
Similarly, he expressed that the council is expected to begin exporting made-in-Nigeria vehicles and automotive machines in the near future.
“We will begin to export made in Nigeria vehicles, made in Nigeria, all these automotive machines.
“We’ll be in a position to be exporting very durable ones and not the ones that people won’t have confidence in,” he said.
According to him, NADDC governing board is expected to work closely with industry stakeholders to drive growth and innovation in the sector.
“We need to work together, so it’s easier for us to relate with all the stakeholders.
“Sometimes, because they represent different stakeholders, you have all the stakeholders needed in this industry there.
“So it’s easier for us to relate with all the stakeholders, and we need that collaboration to be able to work because we have raw material, we have ACMA, who are the company manufacturer, we have vehicle assembler, we have bicycle, we have motorcycle, we have SON,” the NADDC boss concluded.
