EFULA ABBAH
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]frican Association of Automobile Manufacturers (AAAM) has stormed the Nigeria Federal capital, Abuja on working visit to discuss investment plans for the automotive industry in the country.
The visiting AAAM officials are made up of Original Equipment Manufacturers, producing cars in Africa and the delegation is already meeting with senior government officials in Abuja.
Mr. Luqman Mamudu, director of policy and planning, National automotive Design and Development Council(NADDC) under the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, who was full of thanks to Motoring World International for creating awareness about the automotive industry and the efforts to make it sustainable, hinted through an e-mail that “the visit of Africa Association of Automotive Manufacturers is part of the present government’s effort to review the NAIDP(National Automotive Industrial Development Plan) for more traction.”
According to Mr. Mamudu, “The strategy is to increase OEM investment in Nigeria to quickly gain a critical mass of CKD (Completely Knocked Down) assembled vehicles.”
He said, “This provides ready demand for existing and potential component and parts manufacturers,” citing that, “More jobs and technology transfer happen at this level and the earlier we get there the better.”
The NADDC Director also said, “Members of the AAAM include Nissan, Ford, Mercedes, BMW, GM, Toyota and Automotive Components Parts Manufacturers Association of South Africa.”
He also said, “The group’s presentation to the Economic Management team today (Monday) was preceded by an earlier meeting with the association in Nigeria on the 24th-26th of July, where technical notes were shared between stakeholders that included FMF, FMIT&I, NIPC, NCS, The presidency, and the Senate.”
Mr. Mamudu also noted that the “AAAM showed during the meeting with EMT and the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs service later in the day (Monday) that they needed Nigeria to find a way of limiting the inflow of second hand vehicles into the country without hurting Nigerians; improve customs administration at the ports and legislate on NAIDP as critical conditions to make automotive investment in Nigeria attractive.”
He disclosed that, “Rand Bank of South Africa also accompanied the contingent as a strategic partner to provide affordable vehicle asset finance.”
Mr. Mamudu however revealed that “The group is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock villa today (Tuesday).”
It is believed that the meeting will also help the full blown implementation of the automotive policy in Nigeria and galvanize new development in the Africa automotive industries.
The Africa Association of Automotive Manufacturers is the apex body for all auto manufacturing industries in the continent.
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