NADDC moves to boost auto local content market

National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has intensified efforts to boost the automotive local content market through a proposed Bill that seeks to strengthen the capacity of the subsector as the most critical in the industry.

Speaking at a stakeholders engagement on Tuesday in Abuja, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Hon. Enitan Dolapi Badru said the Bill would expand the regulatory mandate of the NADDC, reposition the agency with the aim of improving enforcement and compliance with rules in the auto sector.

He said, “We have to take the initiative; the former act did not give the agency the wherewithal and the authority to enforce. It was voluntary, but with the act, they will have the power to enforce and make sure that things are done properly.

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“.So when you buy a brand new car and you use it for a while, then, you need some parts, the new mandate will ensure that you have those parts available here in the country,” he stated.

Also speaking at the engagement, the Director General of the NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, explained that the new mandate will boost investors’ confidence, improving growth opportunities for industry.

“We are going to develop the component part, we are going to generate more foreign exchange, and then we will be able to build a robust and sustainable auto industry”.

He stated that it was important for Nigeria to build an auto industry that will rely on itself within the auto industry, and then be able to build its own secondhand market within the country.

“As it is now, the second-hand market is currently coming from outside the country. But if you have a solid one, a sustainable one, that will solve one of the major challenge of the industry,” he emphasized.

The DG said close to 70%, or even more than 70%, of the components of the automobile have been recycled. “And through circular economy, you see people bringing in different parts, so that is why we need this bill to address all these inadequacies, gaps and shortcomings in the automotive sector”.

Earlier in his address, the Director, Policy, Planning and Strategy, Mr. Umar Nura Sidi, noted that the Nigerian automotive sector has struggled for so many years, and part of the reason is because of policy somersaults.

“We are gathered here to renew our act to make it better. We have studied where we have had challenges, and we have seen where we can actually overcome these challenges for a better Nigerian automotive sector”.

He assured stakeholders that their contributions were vital in growing the automotive industry in Nigeria.

NADDC hopes to get the bill passed by the National Assembly before the end of the current administration.