The Director General, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Joseph Osanipin, says investment in the development of local contents in the country’s automobile sector should not be left alone for the government.
Speaking at the 2023 Nigeria Auto Journalist Association (NAJA) Awards held on Thursday 14th December, Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, where he was the Special Guest of Honour, Osanipin challenged key players in the Nigerian Automotive Industry to think more on automotive components development and integration in assembly operations.
According to him, local content development is key in Nigeria’s determination to develop its automobile industry, hence the need for stakeholders in the industry to invest more in this aspect of the industry.
“Today we are here to celebrate however we need to challenge ourselves with the future of the Nigeria automotive industry . We need to take the necessary steps to make these changes. It starts with us, we are the ones to determine where the automotive sector will be heading in Nigeria.”
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He noted that the Federal Government can come up with policies to chart the path for the future of the industry but it is the private sector stakeholders that must make it happen, stressing that the future of the industry is in the hands of the brand owners and practitioners seated in the hall.
“I challenge all of us to start thinking about how to breach the gap in the local production of vehicles in Nigeria,” he said.
“I appeal to you to begin to think about what we can source locally to support the industry. We have foam that we can use to produce chairs, plastics, and glass for mirrors, all of which we can source locally to begin to improve our local content,” he said.
Osanipin seized the opportunity to applaud NAJA for standing firm in promoting the local auto industry. He however challenged the awardees to consider components manufacturers in future NAJA awards projects.
Over 29 persons and companies who have distinguished themselves in the industry were specially recognised and honoured in different award categories.
NAJA auto awards annually celebrates the best players in the Nigerian auto industry, acknowledging the marketing achievements in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets of the auto industry in the country.
Each award is to keep encouraging excellence and celebrate the best and the brightest among the stakeholders, their products, and services in the country.