As a way of spearheading automotive industrialization under the current administration’s “Nigeria First” agenda, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to establish a National Automotive Economy Agency.
Professor Oscar Odibo of the Mass Communication Faculty and Media Studies, Delta State University made the call in Lagos on Thursday at the 2025 edition of the Nigeria Auto Industry Summit (NAISU) organized by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC).
Delivering a keynote presentation titled: “Nigeria First: Local Content as Catalyst for Automotive Economy,” the university don recommended that the agency should be established with a seed grant of $5billion and a 25-year profit gestation period to ensure sustainability and investor confidence.
He said: “The agency, which should be headed by a Director General, will focus on unlocking the full economic potential of the automotive sector, attracting investors and delivering long-term value across the value chain.”
Making a compelling case for a radical shift in Nigeria’s approach to auto manufacturing, Prof. Odibo called for a sweeping local content agenda anchored on the Nigerian Content Plan (NCP), urging Nigerian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to demonstrate commitment to sourcing a substantial percentage of their raw materials, services, and workforce locally.
He emphasized that this would not only stimulate the domestic economy but also foster technological innovation, value chain integration, and sustainable job creation.
“Nigerian OEMs must begin to prioritise local value chain contributors over imports,” he stated, adding, “We must dismantle unfair external advantages and promote healthy local competition and co-creation.”
He further proposed a gradual phase-out of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) imports to deepen backward integration and industrial capacity.
In line with the call for deeper localization, Odiboh tasked key institutions with specific mandates.
The Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) was urged to ensure originality in design and engineering of Made-in-Nigeria vehicles.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) were called upon to rigorously enforce local content and quality compliance standards.
