The United States Embassy in Abuja says
President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to
the U.S. has triggered a flood of enquiries from
potential American investors on the country’s
automotive industry.
The embassy’s Counsellor for Economic Affairs,
Mr. Alan Tousignant, said this when he visited
the Director-General of the National Automotive
Design and Development Council (NADDC) on
Friday in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by Mr Bello
Rasheed, the Principal Executive Officer
(Information) of NADDC, Tousignant visited to
make enquiries on the Nigerian Automotive
Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).
The statement reported Tousignant as saying
that he was at the NADDC to get answers for
the deluge of enquiries from the American
government and its business community on the
NAIDP.
It said that the Director-General of NADDDC, Mr
Aminu Jalal, and the council’s Director of Policy
and Planning, Mr Luqman Mamudu, received and
briefed the U.S. team.
The statement said: “ Tousignant said that there
had been an upsurge in the amount of business
enquiries from America since the recent visit of
President Buhari to the U.S.
“He told the NADDC DG that quite a number of
the latest enquiries from potential American
investors were on the Nigeria auto industry.
“Therefore, he needed to know about applicable
staff structure, incentives, availability of skilled
personnel, current total installed capacity, local
value addition and industrial clusters and
infrastructure.
“He also asked questions on applicable safety
standards, annual national vehicle demand,
export potential to other countries, among
others.’’
The statement said that the NADDC DG, Mr
Aminu Jalal, was excited by the “keen interest
shown by American companies and businessmen
in the industry”.
According to the statement, Jalal told his visitors
that two American automobile giants, Ford
Motors and General Motors, had confirmed their
interest in starting vehicle assembly operations
in 2016.
“The NADDC DG explained that Nigeria is the
largest economy in Africa with very huge market
for automobiles.
“He stressed that the auto policy is intended to
transform Nigeria into a major vehicle
manufacturing hub for leveraging on Nigeria’s
abundant trainable labour force and material
resources especially petrochemical-based.
“Jalal told Tousignant and members of his team
that with a population of over 170 million, Nigeria
could not continue to run an import dependent
economy,’’ the statement said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that
the NAIDP was launched by the Federal
Government in 2014 to limit excessive
automobile imports and promote massive
investments in affordable made-in-Nigeria cars.
Stakeholders had expressed fears that the Buhari
administration would discard the policy, but he
used the U.S. visit to assure investors of his
commitment to the development of the auto
industry.
[NAN]

This is a good develop for GMB administration

God bless GMB's tenure. good news here and there...

This is a welcome development, provided its going to benefit the Nigerian masses.

We need a new car that will sell for below one million naira.

For all the wailers that were asking about the point of PMB trip to the USA, there's your answer. And this is just the beginning.

Talk talk and yet more talk, abeg wey d akara, na talk we go chop?

Action speaks louder than words, we need to see action, not daily promises.

oghenetega100:
For all the wailers that were asking about the point of PMB trip to the USA, there's your answer. And this is just the beginning.

That US visit was a mad PR, he new that he need to show to the world that there is a new Oga at the top and the best way to do that is by using the American government cos the whole world would surely pay attention

Mogidi:
Talk talk and yet more talk, abeg wey d akara, na talk we go chop?

Action speaks louder than words, we need to see action, not daily promises.

Guy calm down na....are you telling me you want to see automobile industries spirnging up immidiately PMB was sworn in? ....you sound like the real talkative who is expecting so much from the man you never believed

Mogidi:
Talk talk and yet more talk, abeg wey d akara, na talk we go chop?

Action speaks louder than words, we need to see action, not daily promises.

Guy calm down na....are you telling me you want to see automobile industries spirnging up immidiately PMB was sworn in? ....you sound like the real talkative who is expecting so much from the man you never believed in

Mogidi:
Talk talk and yet more talk, abeg wey d akara, na talk we go chop?

Action speaks louder than words, we need to see action, not daily promises.

APC na SCAMMER.... Tinubu, Okorocha, amaechi, Liar Muhammed.... this guys are scammers, they are just using PMB for their wicked deeds

[s]

ki02020:


Guy calm down na....are you telling me you want to see automobile industries spirnging up immidiately PMB was sworn in? ....you sound like the real talkative who is expecting so much from the man you never believed

[/s]

I can detect scam a mile off, you maybe happy with daily promises, am not, this scam of promises and more promises won't wash with me.

Mogidi:
[s][/s]

I can detect scam a mile off, you maybe happy with daily promises, am not, this scam of promises and more promises won't wash with me.

Then you are a scam for claiming what you are not....if you can detect scam then you should have detected that GEJ was a scam during the 2011 election

Great

Story for the gods...

Mogidi:
[s][/s]

I can detect scam a mile off, you maybe happy with daily promises, am not, this scam of promises and more promises won't wash with me.

Real scam.

kaycid77:


APC na SCAMMER.... Tinubu, Okorocha, amaechi, Liar Muhammed.... this guys are scammers, they are just using PMB for their wicked deeds

They are set of scammers.

I pity their end.