NADDC, BPP collaborate to ensure FG’s patronage of made-in-Nigeria vehicles

…plans legislative backing for Nigeria First policy

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) are collaborating to ensure that all Federal Government entities patronise made-in-Nigeria vehicles to boost local production.

Speaking at a joint press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale A. Adedokun, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had designated the bureau as the government agency responsible for setting standards across sectors of the economy and providing the necessary institutional framework.

He explained that the bureau would work with relevant statutory organisations to implement the Nigeria First policy.

Adedokun said the bureau had consulted local vehicle assemblers and other stakeholders in the automotive industry to understand the challenges facing domestic manufacturers, particularly concerns about market demand.

He said, “we undertook what is usually not the norm, stakeholder consultation with the local assemblers. We understood their problems. Their biggest fear was market.

“Their biggest fear was that even if we continue to produce, will Nigeria patronize us, including those in the spare parts sector. We have Nigerian companies who are producing spare parts excellently well, of the highest quality, customized to our environment and our social inclusion.

“Therefore, having understood the challenges and the problems, their solution is straightforward because the policy will drive industrialization, create job opportunities, employ our skills and our technicians.

“Also, it even removes the youth from being on the streets, and a lot more in terms of positioning Nigeria as a destination where you can get customized products that feed the ECOWAS region and even Africa”.

ALSO READ: 2027: Atiku, Peter Obi stand no chance against Tinubu – Senator Yari

Adedokun said the bureau would continue to engage stakeholders to ensure that vehicle assemblers met the required standards, warning that companies that violated the policy would face sanctions.

He stated, “We constantly have the stakeholders meeting to ensure that the assemblers perform to expectations. We have a mechanism called debarment; any assembler that violates this principle would be sanctioned in line with the provisions of the circular and government external guidelines.

“Government will buy these vehicles but the assemblers must guarantee quality, innovation and maintenance. We are moving from the era where assemblers do not have after-sales facility. Now they know that the game has changed.

“So we are putting a strong monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that assemblers up their game, improve their innovation and technology. Every car does not have to be luxurious. There are vehicles that only need basic, and Nigerian civil servants can acquire them at basic prices”.

He reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to ensuring that government agencies patronised locally assembled vehicles.

“We will ensure that all Federal government entities patronize made-in-Nigeria vehicles,” he stated.

On his part, the Director-General of NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, urged vehicle assemblers to take advantage of the policy by producing affordable vehicles for the domestic market.

“There are vehicles that are for high-end people; continue to produce them but let’s take advantage of the over 250 million Nigerians who need mobility at a very reasonable cost.

“To those who make spare parts, this is opportunity to produce them here. The major beneficiary of the policy will be the local content manufacturers. We spend more on spare parts than even procurement of vehicles.

“Immediately the federal government starts procuring made-in-Nigeria vehicles in large numbers, it will mean those vehicles will continue to be maintained here in the country. Procurement can be done once but throughout the lifespan of those vehicles, you will continue to maintain them,” he stated.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Automobile Manufacturers Association (NAMA), Mr Bawo Omagbitse, and the National Coordinator of the Automotive Local Component Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (ALCMAN), Chief Anselm Ilekuba, who attended the briefing, commended the agencies for enforcing the Nigeria First policy.