FEMI OWOEYE
For Nigeria’s automotive industry, the latest move by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) could be the beginning of the end of a frustrating 13-year wait.
On September 3, 2026, NADDC, under the leadership of Director-General Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, brought major stakeholders together in Lagos to scrutinise the Draft National Automotive Industry Bill, 2026, a proposed law designed to replace the 2014 NADDC Act and provide a stronger legal foundation for the industry.
This is significant.
Since the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) emerged in 2013, Nigeria’s automotive industry has lived with the consequences of having a policy ambition without the enduring legislative framework needed to guarantee its implementation.
During the eight years of the Buhari administration, including its second term, efforts to translate the NAIDP into a properly enacted law failed to deliver the promised result.
The consequence has been costly.
Global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other potential investors have repeatedly expressed concerns about Nigeria’s policy uncertainty and what industry stakeholders describe as policy somersaults. Long-term automotive investment requires billions in capital, years of planning and confidence that the rules will not suddenly change.
Nigeria cannot seriously compete for global automotive investments while investors remain uncertain about the policy environment.
This is why the latest NADDC initiative deserves commendation.
Osanipin has correctly recognised that Nigeria must move beyond simply assembling vehicles to developing a complete automotive industrial ecosystem—one involving local component manufacturing, increased local content, technology transfer, electrification, skills development, employment and regional exports.
The proposed Bill also seeks to transform NADDC into the National Automotive Design and Development Commission, with stronger statutory regulatory and enforcement powers. Importantly, it is expected to provide legal backing for the incentives, protections and implementation structures of the NAIDP.
Stakeholder participation has also been deliberately built into the process. NAMA, AAAM, vehicle assemblers, component suppliers, financiers and other industry operators have been invited to scrutinise the draft and make contributions before its submission to the National Assembly.
That is the right approach.
But consultation must not become another endless journey.
Mr President, this is where your administration can make history.
With the 2027 elections only months away, the Tinubu administration has a narrow but potentially historic window to move this process from consultation to legislation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has repeatedly spoken about industrialisation, economic transformation, local production and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imports. The automotive industry provides an extraordinary opportunity to turn those ambitions into a measurable legacy.
A properly enacted automotive industry law could unlock investments in vehicle manufacturing, components, engineering, research, technology, electric mobility and after-market services.
It could create thousands of direct and indirect jobs while positioning Nigeria to exploit the enormous African market under AfCFTA.
Most importantly, it could send a powerful message to global OEMs:
Nigeria is finally open for serious, long-term automotive investment. And the rules are clear.
Mr President, therefore, should seize the momentum created by NADDC.
The administration should ensure that the stakeholder consultation is completed swiftly, legitimate industry concerns are incorporated, and the final Bill is transmitted to the National Assembly with the urgency it deserves.
After 13 years, the automotive industry should not have to wait for another administration.
President Tinubu has the opportunity to end the cycle of promises, policy uncertainty and legislative delay and add a landmark automotive law to his industrialisation legacy.
The industry has waited long enough.
Mr President, please finish the journey. Turn the NAIDP into law.
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