Stakeholders Reaffirm Confidence In FG’s Auto Policy

Some industry stakeholders have reaffirmed their confidence in the Federal Government’s automotive policy with a call for its sustenance.
They told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday that the policy was already bearing the desired fruits, particularly in the area of job creation.
The Marketing Manager of Kia Motors Nigeria, Mr Jimoh Olawale, said that the policy would revolutionise the industry and by extension the economy of Nigeria if maintained.
“We are one of the major strong believers in the policy and we know that if it is maintained, it will revolutionise the industry and the entire economy of Nigeria.
“The policy is already positioning the automotive industry for economic diversification and job creation, the two areas seriously begging for government’s attention. 
“As we speak, our assembly plant in Lagos has employed thousands of people, many of whom are young graduates,’’ he said.
The policy, officially known as the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), took effect in 2013 following its approval by the Federal Executive Council.
It is a 10-year plan aimed at stimulating investment in local vehicle production to reduce the country’s overdependence on imports.
Among other elements, the policy has a provision for periodic phase reviews to sustain its implementation and suit economic realities.
Olawale advised the government to ensure that the reviews did not undermine the essence of the policy. 
A top official of Leyland Nigeria, one of the country’s leading automobile assembly plants, said the policy had greatly enhanced investors’ confidence in the industry.
The official, who pleaded anonymity, who said he was not authorised to speak to the press on the company, expressed hope that the present administration would sustain it.
However, the General Manager of Perfection Motor Nigeria, Mr Agrian Fourie, decried the “incessant delays’’ in the clearance of vehicle assembly inputs at the nation’s seaports.
Fourie said that the development could undermine the policy and by extension the growth of the industry if urgent steps were not taken by government to address it.