Although the National Automotive Bill has passed the second reading at the Senate, the leadership of the Senate has expressed doubt about the workability of the Bill if eventually passed by the National Assembly.
Tagged: ‘Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (Fiscal Incentives, Assurances and Guarantees) Bill’, it is meant to strengthen the Nigerian automotive industry development plan and promote a sustainable and competitive automotive industry. It is an Executive Bill.
Although the National Automotive Bill has passed the second reading at the Senate, the leadership of the Senate has expressed doubt about the workability of the Bill if eventually passed by the National Assembly.
Tagged: ‘Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (Fiscal Incentives, Assurances and Guarantees) Bill’, it is meant to strengthen the Nigerian automotive industry development plan and promote a sustainable and competitive automotive industry. It is an Executive Bill.
The Bill which first appeared at the National Assembly in June, 2014, it seeks to give teeth to government’s auto policy and give legal backing to investments in the production and assembly of cars and tyres in Nigeria as well as legalise provision of tariff incentives and income tax reliefs on all automobile and automotive components.
But, casting doubt over the Bill, the Senate President, David Mark, expressed worries about the state of electricity generation in Nigeria and noted that if the automotive industry was going to run on generator for 24 hours, it could not compete internationally.
While contributing ot the debate, Mark said: “The bill is good on paper. This will remain absolutely good on paper but in practice, it will be difficult.
“My suggestion is that this is an excellent bill, we should pass it but we should let the government know that for the bill to succeed, a few things will have to be put in place.
“There is no doubt in our minds that we want to bring back our automotive industry because it is about the creation of employment.”
Also, while contributing, the Senate Leader; Ndoma-Egba expressed worry that Nigeria still spent huge revenue on importation of vehicles, he said that for instance, Nigerians imported N600bn worth of automobiles in 2012.
“In 2012, for instance, N600bn worth of automobiles were imported, three-quarters of which were second hand,” the Senate leader said.
He noted that in many countries, the automotive industry played strategic roles in economic development in terms of employment creation, Gross Domestic Product generation and economic linkages.
According to him, the industry also serves as a veritable platform for Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises’ development as well as a platform for skill and technology development.
Ndoma-Egba quoted the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers as saying that the auto industry directly employed over nine million people worldwide.
The figure, he said, represented five per cent of the world’s total manufacturing employment.
For instance in South Africa, he said the automotive industry was contributing seven per cent to the GDP and represented 12 per cent of exports.
According to Ndoma-Egba, the industry is the second largest employer of labour in the country.
He further said that the Nigerian automotive industry represented by PAN Nigeria Limited, Kaduna; Volkswagen of Nigeria, Lagos; Styr Nigeria, Bauchi; Leyland Nigeria, Ibadan; Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company, Enugu; and National Trucks Manufacturer, Kano, at their peak had combined annual output of over 150,000 vehicles valued at N450bn.
The senator lamented that Nigeria’s tyre plants had disappeared along with quality jobs and opportunities.
He stated, “Rubber produced locally is now being exported, while finished tyres worth over N100bn are imported annually.
“The current operations of the Nigerian automotive industry is primarily limited to assembly of commercial vehicles because of the economies of production, but what the country really needs is car assembly and production facilities to fully tap into and benefit from the industry’s global potential.”
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