By Moses Akaigwe, 08072100049

Related News

Auto manufacturers in the country and foreign investors interested in the local industry have been assured of the support of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) as they invest towards producing vehicles and developing the sector.
The pledge was contained in the inaugural message by the new director-general, Mr. Jelani Aliyu, who assumed duties recently at the NADDC head office in Abuja, following his appointment by the Federal Government on Thursday, April 17, 2017.
Aliyu, who affirmed his commitment to his mandate and the aims and objectives of the council, remarked that the domestic auto industry must be “encouraged and supported” to leverage advanced technology in providing the most applicable, safest, most durable and cost-effective vehicles.
He said: “The NADDC is committed to identifying progressive technical partners and investors from around the world who can work with us to develop the automotive sector potential in Nigeria.”
The new DG, upon assumption of duties on May 15, was warmly received by the management and staff of the council, led by the director in charge of planning and logistics, Mr. Mahmud Luqman.
In a statement issued a few days after his arrival, Aliyu said he was committed to “adding significant value to the automotive sector, and very much look forward to working with all my team at the NADDC, to positively and dynamically engage all the committed stakeholders, both in the public and private sector. My objective is to create a win-win for all the progressive companies involved and for the Nigerian people”.
He underscored the importance of the automotive sector as a direct provider of the logistics of life and the enabler of exponential multiplier effects.
“These are critical and very exciting times for Nigeria and we have two options as a nation: we either choose to maintain the mundane status quo, inch along and be left behind as every other country speeds by taking millions around the world out of poverty, or we can decide to strategise and boldly reach for the stars,” said the former General Motors senior creative designer.
Commending the present government for its determination to look beyond oil and diversify the base of the economy to manufacturing and agriculture, he said that the NADDC would seize this opportunity to develop the automotive sector and make Nigeria an advanced hub for the industry in Africa.
“We shall empower our talented youth with the necessary professional training in contemporary automotive design and development, leveraging the most sophisticated technology, so they will innovate, design and develop automotive and transportation solutions that are in tune with our culture, climate, geography and economic structure,” he said.
Born in Kaduna (to a family from Sokoto State) in 1966, Jelani Aliyu, MFR, attended Federal Government College, Sokoto, where he graduated as the best Technical Drawing student, and later studied Architecture at the Birnin-Kebbi Polytechnic, Kebbi State, from 1986 to 1988.
To fulfill the dream of studying Automobile Design, he also enrolled at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and joined the General Motors design team upon graduation in 1994.