FEMI OWOEYE
A proposed law could hand Nigeria’s automotive regulator stronger enforcement powers, setting the stage for a sweeping industry overhaul and raising urgent questions about where its authority would begin and other agencies’ responsibilities would end.
The Draft National Automotive Industry Bill, 2026, seeks to replace the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) with a National Automotive Development Commission empowered to exercise broader regulatory, oversight and enforcement responsibilities.
But as public sector stakeholders examined the draft in Abuja on Tuesday, November 3, the challenge extended beyond creating a stronger institution: ensuring its powers do not collide with those of existing agencies.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Hon. Enitan Dolapo Badru, urged participants to address potential overlaps with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure and Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.
His intervention put institutional coordination at the heart of a reform intended to strengthen local manufacturing, attract investment and improve automotive quality standards.
Badru said developments in global automotive technology and trade had made a review of the NADDC Act, 2014, necessary. The proposed Commission would assume wider responsibilities, including policy advisory functions.
He also stressed that fiscal incentives and local content requirements must survive the test of implementation: they must be practical, enforceable and consistent with Nigeria’s international obligations.
For NADDC Director-General, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, the Bill represents a strategic opportunity to build an integrated, self-sustaining automotive value chain.
He identified component manufacturing, local content development, green mobility and a predictable investment environment as key priorities.
The proposed transition to a Commission, he explained, would strengthen the institutional framework needed to support industrial growth.
Osanipin urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies to identify regulatory gaps, resolve institutional overlaps and submit practical recommendations for effective implementation.
He disclosed that contributions from a private sector consultation held in Lagos approximately six weeks earlier had already been incorporated into the working draft.
The Abuja engagement, which included a legal presentation by Mr Gboyega Oyewale, SAN, provided another opportunity to scrutinise the proposed legislation before its planned transmission to the National Assembly.
Badru assured participants of legislative attention, including further deliberations and a public hearing.
The stakes are clear: the Bill proposes a more powerful automotive institution, but the effectiveness of that institution will depend on how clearly the final law defines its powers, obligations and relationship with other regulators.
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