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The federal government has been advised to consider waivers on import for operators in the auto industry as a way of reviving the sector and  creating more jobs for Nigerians.

Chairman of Executive Motors, Ayo Ogunsan,made this appeal in a chat with journalists in Ogun State. He lamented the de-industrialisaton in the Nigerian auto sector, saying the federal government could play a decisive role in revitalising the sector  considering waivers and tariffs, so that the prices of vehicles could become affordable for the common man in the country.

“One way in which the authorities could revive the sector is by re-considering the issues of waivers and tariffs, and also by ensuring that foreign auto makers do not continue to use the country as a dumping ground for their products, ”he said.

Ogunsan, lamented the fact that automobile sector still depends on companies abroad to sustain itself despite the huge endowment in the country.

According to him, another area where the authorities could help the course of the sector is by sanitising the ports in the country and removing all bottlenecks causing delays in the clearance of goods.

Ogunsan, bemoaned the fact that there are many check desks at the ports with car importers requiring to tender as much as 74 documents to effect the clearance of vehicles, adding that this makes the process cumbersome and expensive.

Expressing the faith that the issue of a 100 percent, Nigerian car, becomes a reality next year, he advised governments at different levels and their agencies to make it a matter of policy to patronise auto dealers in the country rather than the current practice of importing cars that are readily available in the country.

The Executive Motors boss, who reeled out a lot of suggestions on how the sector could be made better, argued further that Nigeria should not be made a dumping ground for cars of all brands and origin.

According to him, there is no reason why auto makers cannot do simultaneous launching of their brands in Nigeria and overseas or at least reduce the time lag within which they introduce such brands in the country, after it enters the European market.

As for his optimisms for the sector next year, he said he would like to see a more united body of auto dealers, speaking with one voice, as this would help them actualise some things in the country.

The manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy contributes less than 4 percent to the national GDP. But experts have said that over-dependence on the oil sector, which stands at 80 percent, is largely responsible for the poor state of the industrial sector. Manufacturers have cried out that poor power supply, low-tax levied on imported vehicles, low patronage of locally made goods and lack of support from the government largely contribute to the snail-paced growth of manufacturing, which is a major parameter in measuring a country’s development.

Aminu Jalal, director-general of the National Automotive Council had recently estimated that the Nigeria’s auto industry is worth N400 billion annually.

The Nigerian automobile industry has over the past two decades, been active in the importation of vehicles as, recent reports have shown, the number of jobs that the automotive industry would have created, if fully active, is enormous. Aminu Jalal however disclosed that, if the automotive industry is functioning at full capacity, it is capable of creating about 70,000 skilled and semi-skilled jobs, and about 210,000 indirect jobs.

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