The House of Representatives Committee on Industry has pledged to work towards improving access to affordable vehicle financing for Nigerians as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s automotive sector.
To this end, the committee has pledged to summon the Bank of Industry (BoI), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) over the automotive finance scheme to enable Nigerians to access funds to purchase new vehicles.
The committee, led by its Chairman, Dr Enitan Badru, made the commitment during an oversight visit by the NADDC to various vehicle assembly plants in Lagos and Ogun States. The visits covered Proforce Limited in Ogun State and Toyota Nigeria Limited in Lagos.
Speaking after the inspection at Proforce, Badru said: “My observation of this facility is that I’m really proud of an indigenous corporation handling defence institution gadgets, and I am also very elated that not only are they doing it right for Nigeria, but they are also doing exports as well.
“To be doing exports means they must have reached some high-quality standards, and from what I have seen, they have got their acts right and are doing something that should be emulated.
“Right now, the Nigerian Army, from what I have learnt, is a stakeholder in this institution, and I am sure by the time we get to some years ahead, they too will be improving because the whole world is not waiting.
“By the time we know it, AI and all that will take over, and so they must be upgrading along the line as well. By the time you wait, thinking you have got something, next year something else is out, so they must be upgraded.”
Director-General, NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, said the agency is proud of what is being done at Proforce because they are not only producing from Nigeria, but are also exporting.
“We know that enquiries also come; they normally receive enquiries even outside this continent. That shows that other countries are taking note of what Proforce is doing.
“We are very proud of them. We know what other challenges they have. It is beyond what I have observed now; we have a lot of standards. But even with those challenges, they are producing world-class security vehicles, and this is kudos to them.
“We have to appreciate the effort they are putting in and the level they have gotten to. They are not only producing, they are doing a lot of training for different kinds of military personnel — both Police, Navy, Army, Air Force, and many others, even private security personnel. They do training for them, and the training covers a lot of things apart from driving. They are already into AI, which shows that they are innovative, and that’s what has been keeping them. Not only are they producing, they are innovative and good at what they are doing,” he said.
