National Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria has faulted the federal government’s policy on vehicles manufacturing and the plan to phase out used vehicles (tokumbo) being imported into the country.

The association described the move as hasty, ill conceived, ill motivated, and therefore called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to review the policy because of the obvious lack of other means of transportation in the country.

Chairman of the association, Abuja chapter, Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, said the call for the review of the policy has become necessary because its members believe that it the decision was hasty stressing that the immediate past administration may have erred in its decision to implement the automotive policy as it did not take into consideration the realities on ground.

Though Adedoyin was of the view that the national automotive policy, if well articulated, will take Nigeria out of a consumption nation to a manufacturing country however explained that the policy needed to be fine-tuned with a view of addressing some of the index required for production.

He noted that there was urgent need for President Mohammadu Buhari to take a critical appraisal of the policy, which is designed to bring in manufactured spare parts into the country, assembled by mechanics, and branded as Nigeria made vehicles.

The chairman who said the policy, if not reviewed, will rob on the business of car importation as well as the country’s revenue generation, however decried a situation where over one million people currently employed by its association would be thrown into the labour market.

“we do not want a situation where the federal government ill-motivated policy will rob on the economy of the country and create more unemployment crisis for the citizenry, so our advice is that President Buhari should take a critical examination of the policy and address the grey areas before its implementation, Adedoyin declared.

He observed that power, alternative means of transportation such as the establishment of a special bank that could guarantee the financial base for increase production and rail should be put in place as a panacea for the sustenance of the policy.

The association’s boss, who warned against blanket law on vehicle manufacturing in Nigeria, called for the development of the 250 hectares of land allocated to the Abuja branch of the association to help reduce the number of vehicles littered all over the FCT, expressing the hope that once this was done, the looming environmental hazards would be averted.

The chairman who reiterated the readiness of the association to partner the present government in its crusade to salvage the country from its present economy doldrums, express its confidence on Buhari government.

 

Source:  Nigerian Pilot