Managing Director of Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN) Limited, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi has asked the Director General of National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, Mr. Jelani Aliyu, to intensify the fight against car smuggling into the country even as he urged him to fast-track the pace of automotive industrial development including local components manufacturing in Nigeria.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the newly-appointment director general of NADDC, in Abuja, Alhaji Boyi, who led the management team of PAN Nigeria, stressed the urgent need for the NADDC boss to enforce “strict and rigorous implementation” of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan, NAIDP, in order to achieve its set goals of solving the transportation need of the citizenry.
He also advised the director general of NADDC to give necessary attention were the enactment on NAIDP into law, introduction of affordable vehicle finance scheme, development of cluster parks for local components manufacturing and prevention of vehicle smuggling.
According to him, “We are most delighted to have somebody of your pedigree, knowledge and vast experience in the auto industry being brought to head NADDC. The rest of the issues we will want you to deal with are, vehicle smuggling, imposition of high levy on imported used vehicles, stable macro-economic environment, migration of assembly operations from SKD to CKD, enforcement of uniform standards and introduction of additional incentives to promote local production” he said.
Alhaji Boyi described NAIDP as a “life-line” for all auto assembly plants in Nigeria. “Honestly, we would not have been able to restart our factory operations if not for the auto policy that created a new environment and tariff measures to promote local manufacturing, greater prospects for local components and parts manufacturing, significant change in the competitive environment that made locally assembled vehicles more competitive and more affordable in the market space,” he said.
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