Highlights of maiden edition of CEOs Forum in Abuja

Some stakeholders in the Nigerian auto industry comprising chief executive officers of auto companies, heads of relevant government agencies, groups and associations rose from one-day meeting held at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja on Thursday August 04, 2022, with some disappointment over the dragging or slow implementation of the nation’s auto policy by the Federal Government.

Specifically, they noted that it was wrong for the National Automotive Design and Development Council, the initiator and executor of policy, to have started the implementation of the programme without first getting the legal backing (legislation) from the National Assembly to guarantee the safety of investment.

For the auto business to thrive, they advocated a special interest rate (single-digit) for genuine players through the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

They demanded a review of the 10% import parity duty for semi-knocked-down vehicles and fully-built units, which currently makes it difficult for local auto assemblers to compete with sellers of imported new vehicles called FBU.

They called for strong ties among indigenous automakers/players and stressed the need to form a powerful lobby group to interact with the Federal Ministry of Finance considered the backbone of the auto policy implementation.

The auto players demand severe sanctions against government agencies violating the Executive Order 5, which directed the latter to buy Nigeria-assembled vehicles.

The auto assemblers were asked to get acquainted with the necessary requirements to win government’s vehicle purchase contracts.

Players are requested to regularly furnish the National Bureau of Statistics with adequate and correct data that will enable the agency to prepare useful statistics for the industry. This will engender informed decisions by individual company, group and the government.