ABUJA (Industry, Trade and Investment Ministry Report) – “Nigeria is seeking the Japanese Government’s help towards recycling the huge disused vehicular carcasses that adorn the country’s landscape,” the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abdulkadir Musa told the technical meeting between officials of the Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the development of automobile supplier parks in Nigeria.
Abdulkadir Musa explained that the ratio of new and used cars in Nigeria is between 5: 95% in favour of used cars. Adding, this is so because used cars are affordable to the average Nigerian which is why the government under its Transformation Agenda developed a holistic auto policy that emphasizes greater local content.
“For each new car in Nigeria, we have 20 used cars. It is a big market to recycle vehicles in this country which may serve as avenue for employment and skills acquisition as well as opportunity for manufacturers to replace used cars with new ones. Local content development has been part of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) which is the next stage of the Auto policy that the Ministry is focusing on, in order to create employment and wealth as well as skill acquisition for Nigerians in the auto sector,” he said.
“The intervention of the government of Japan in the sector is welcome as it agrees with the Nigerian Government’s plan to develop the auto industry sector in the country. The development of auto clusters in the country is achievable and the Ministry is ready to work with Japan to provide necessary support and information.”
He recalled that the NIRP and the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) which were recently launched by the government are meant to develop the skills of Nigerian youths as well as address the skills gap in the country. He also indicated that the National Automotive Council (NAC) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) are working with stakeholders to develop a curriculum along the value-chain of automobiles for higher institutions in the country.
He urged the survey team to widen their study across the country, in order to get the actual f data on automobiles in the country; noting that engagement in workshops, after sales services and training of personnel must cut across the six geo-political zones of the country.
The leader of the team, Akihiro Shimomura stated that the objective of the survey was to actualized the Federal Government’s quest for the development of automobile supplier parks in Nigeria; analyse the current issues on the development of the automotive industry in Nigeria as well as policies, strategies, institutional frameworks and the progress of the sector. Adding, it seeks to sort out political and technical issues on the promotion of domestic production in Nigeria.
“JICA has decided to conduct a survey, in order to gather information on the automotive sector in Nigeria. This is in response to the request from the Nigerian government. The team would look at the outline of the automotive industry, policy, strategy and plan, including standards, the development of popular cars, supplier parks and clusters in three areas as well as laws and regulations,” Shimomura stated.
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