Mohammed Shosanya
Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Joseph Osanipin, has said that Nigeria spends close to $19million annually on the importation of motorcycle spare parts.
Osanipin stated this at a media parley in Abuja,where he also said the Council was working assiduously to lay the foundation of auto industry, which is the development of auto component parts.
He said: “When I came in, I focused on this. We need to focus attention on the spare parts we are using.
“We buy vehicles once, but we maintain them over a very long period of time. My vision is to identify those ones we have comparative advantage to manufacture them in Nigeria.
“While we were doing our investigations, we realised that the value of motorcycle spare parts imported into the country annually is close to $19 million.
“This figure does not include tricycles and vehicles. If we can produce these parts locally, we will save a lot of amount in foreign exchange and create opportunities for local manufacturers.”
He disclosed that the Council would come up with robust policies to support the initiatives and investments in the auto industry.
He said that NADDC is collaborating with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to establish the Nnewi Auto Industrial Park, as part of efforts to develop auto spare parts manufacturing in Nigeria.
“This industrial park is a gigantic investment aimed at supporting small and medium-scale manufacturers who possess technical expertise but lack the financial capacity and modern equipment,” Osanipin said.
He disclosed that the park would provide shared facilities, including electricity, security, and modern tools, to enhance production efficiency and reduce operational costs.
“With this initiative, manufacturers will share resources like conference rooms and production facilities. This approach will help increase their capacity to produce, reduce their cost of production, and make them to scale up their production easier.
“We are putting measures in place to ensure that we meet the local component input we are using for our vehicles in Nigeria.
Osanipin also revealed ongoing efforts to revive local tyre manufacturing to reduce reliance on importation.
“We are working with a local company capable of producing tyres for two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Once revived, this company could meet at least 60 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for such tyres.
“Additionally, we are engaging stakeholders in battery production to further localise component manufacturing,” he said.
He expressed optimism that this initiative would not only meet the local market but also African market, in view of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which takes -off in 2025.
“If we fail to take all these decisions now, it means Nigeria will be bombarded with foreign products once the trade barriers among African countries are removed.
“Let’s ensure that we are competitive, our local manufacturers will be able to stand against these foreign products.
“Apart from this, part of the things we are focusing on, is standardisation of products, capacity building, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, including manufacturers, Customs, the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Industry(BoI) and UNIDO.
“For us to make progress in this sector, we must work together. We must be on the same page.
“The manufacturers must understand their own responsibility, BoI, who finances most of our products, must know the direction we are going.”
