At a time the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Jelani Aliyu is calling on the Federal Government to make a legislation that would turn the prevailing auto policy into law, the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf has called for immediate review of the policy on grounds of being totally counterproductive since introduction.
The automotive plan which contains a number of policy measures needed to revitalise the industry for job creation, local value addition, and technology acquisition has six components.
They are standards, industrial infrastructure, local content development, skills development, investment promotion and market development.
However, since the introduction, many industry experts had continued to kick the content saying it cannot drive the needed speed in turning the nation to a viable vehicle manufacturing nation.
In a recent interview on a national TV monitored in Lagos, Yusuf explained that contrary to the main target of the policy, it has turned out to become negative for the motoring public and good for the economies of neighbouring countries via smuggling.
He said enough background studies were not carried ahead of introducing the policy as it has turned out to become money making spinner for neighbouring sea ports where Nigerians now import cars from and smuggle into the country to avoid the neck-cutting 70 per cent duty paid on cars.
Yusuf further argued that government has lost the key target for the policy as no local manufacturer has gained from it due to several bottlenecks packaged in the policy.
He therefore called for outright review of the nation’s auto policy to fit the current auto realities in Nigeria.
But in a sharp contrast, NADDC boss, Aliyu who spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a recent event in Lagos where he inspected the Honda HR-V, newly introduced into the Nigerian market, argued that the need for a legislation to support the policy was based on the conviction that it would assist in strengthening the policy as well as preventing it from being changed by subsequent governments.
According to him, “We need to have the auto policy become law. As you are aware, the auto policy is a set of fiscal incentives that are designed to boost production.
“The big question in Nigeria is, are we after short-term benefit? The only way we can ensure that this country continues to be a successful nation is to provide industrialisation and provide jobs.
“The only way we can provide jobs is to boost industries and support those local and international investors in coming into Nigeria and producing.
Aliyu noted that “That is why the automotive policy is so important for local production. We are making progress because this shows there are investors from around the world especially from Japan which is the heartbeat of automotive.
He revealed further that “We are working very closely with the National Assembly to see how that automotive policy becomes law so that there was no policy summersault.”
