Auto policy needs vigorous implementation to succeed, says stakeholder

The Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), a policy framework designed to drive the revitalisation of the country’s vehicle manufacturing industry, is in dire need of reinvigoration and clear direction.
This is because, three years after the policy formally took effect on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, the implementation has not gathered the expected momentum.
The view was canvassed recently in Lagos by an auto industry analyst, Dr. Oscar Odiboh, while speaking at the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) monthly industry forum,
Odiboh, who is a senior lecturer, Covenant University, Otta, Ogun state, lamented the present state of the sector, saying that the industry might not make much progress unless government and the relevant agencies redouble their efforts towards a more result-oriented implementation of the policy.
According to him, economic downturn, uncertainties and government inaction have combined to slow down the growth of the industry – much against the goal of a leading vehicle manufacturing economy as contained in the NAIDP.
Dwelling on ‘Implementation of Nigeria’s Auto Policy: The way Forward’, Odiboh insisted that industry is divided and might not thrive until the stakeholders start collaborating towards common goals and in the interest of the sector.
Calling for the production of budget cars, Odiboh stressed that the sector’s inability to offer affordable products would keep used vehicles market flourishing to the detriment of the local industry.
The Covenant University don called on the federal government to provide a finance scheme that would enable Nigerians acquire brand new cars, noting that the projected objective of a viable domestic auto industry would remain elusive unless there is market for new vehicles.
He said poor power supply, bad roads, lack of processed raw materials, absence of long-term financial investment and other factors were the bane of the industry.
Similarly, according to him, corruption, deceptive data from the stakeholder, profit diversion, mutual suspicion, porous borders as well as poor positioning, could eventually run down the policy, if not addressed.