NAJA targets bigger, more prestigious 19th auto awards on December 3

he Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) has fixed Thursday, December 3, 2026, for the grand finale of its 19th annual awards, with organisers promising a bigger, more prestigious and professionally organised celebration of excellence in Nigeria’s automotive industry.

The highly anticipated ceremony will be held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, and is expected to attract automobile manufacturers, distributors, dealers, financial institutions, policymakers, motoring enthusiasts and other stakeholders across the Nigerian automotive sector.

The 2026 edition is being planned to surpass previous editions in scale, organisation and glamour while retaining the credibility, transparency and professional standards that have characterised the NAJA Awards over the years.

Chairman of the 2026 NAJA Awards Planning Committee, Frank Kintum, said the committee was committed to delivering an event that would reflect the growing importance of Nigeria’s automotive industry and the achievements of players contributing to its development.

According to Kintum, the 19th edition will be “bigger and more glamorous” than previous editions, stressing that the planning committee was paying attention to every aspect of the ceremony to ensure that the quality of the event matches the achievements of the industry.

He described the awards as an important platform for recognising individuals, brands and organisations that have distinguished themselves through innovation, professionalism, service delivery and other measurable contributions to the growth of the automotive sector.

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Kintum said the planning committee was also working to ensure that the selection and evaluation process remained credible, with eligible products, brands and personalities assessed across the relevant segments of the industry.

He explained that the final winners would emerge through the approved NAJA Awards modalities, with the evaluation process designed to ensure that recognition is based on established criteria rather than popularity or market size alone.

Chairman of NAJA, Theodore Opara, also stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the awards, noting that the objective was not simply to celebrate the biggest companies or most prominent personalities in the market.

Opara said the association was more interested in recognising individuals, products, brands and organisations that had demonstrated measurable excellence and made meaningful contributions to the advancement of Nigeria’s automotive industry.

He noted that the awards had increasingly become an important reference point for industry stakeholders because of the credibility associated with NAJA’s judging and evaluation process.

The 2026 awards come at a period of significant transformation in the Nigerian automotive industry, with technological advancement, electric mobility, local vehicle production, changing consumer preferences and evolving government policies reshaping the sector.

Against this backdrop, organisers said the awards would provide an opportunity to acknowledge the companies, professionals and institutions contributing to the industry’s development and helping to shape its future.

The planning committee called on automobile brands, manufacturers, dealers, distributors, financial institutions and other stakeholders to actively participate in the 2026 awards process.

It said the event would not only celebrate outstanding achievements recorded during the year but also highlight innovation, professionalism and initiatives capable of strengthening Nigeria’s automotive ecosystem.

With the December 3 ceremony now confirmed, attention is expected to shift to the nomination, assessment and final selection stages as the association prepares for what it described as another landmark edition of the annual automotive industry awards.