The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Joseph Osanipin, has called on stakeholders to grow capacity in the Nigerian auto industry.
He made this call yesterday at the annual awards ceremony of Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), which recognizes auto brands that have excelled over the year. He said this is the time for stakeholders to start challenging themselves to brighten the future of the auto industry in Nigeria.
He noted that the Federal Government can come up with policies to chart the path for the future of the industry but it is the private sector stakeholders that must make it happen, stressing that the future of the industry is in the hands of the brand owners and practitioners seated in the hall.
“I challenge all of us to start thinking about how to breach the gap in the local production of vehicles in Nigeria,” he said.
Turning to NAJA, the DG raised concern that there was no award for “Component Parts Producer of the Year.” He said you cannot get the whole without having smaller parts. So there is the need to begin to strategize on how to build pats to support the auto industry.
“I appeal to you to begin to think about what we can source locally to support the industry. We have foam that we can use to produce chairs, plastics, and glass for mirrors, all of which we can source locally to begin to improve our local content,” he said.
