FG to limit foreign vehicle imports

…Faults local automakers on value addition

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The federal government, yesterday, said it was time for the country to restrict the importation of foreign vehicles into the country.

Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh stated this at the inauguration of the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG), in Abuja.

“For instance, Toyota, can you imagine the number of Toyota vehicles that are bought by government and its agencies.

“In the course of my tour, I have gone to some auto assembling company. I am waiting for one that Toyota is adding value to Nigeria’s auto industry.

“We must stop contributing to job creation abroad and not jobs created in the country. I have spoken about this on and on.

“At some point, we need to be dramatic and take dramatic positions otherwise things will not change. We need to get to a point where we will give a timeline.

“Is it in the next 12 months? Is it in the next 18 months? If we do not find anything evidently in our country what work is being done to demonstrate their work, we will still ban some classes of vehicles.”

Speaking on the IRWG, he said: “It is an important initiative aimed at economic development. It supports the federal Government-approved Presidential Council on Industrial Revitalization Roadmap, established in October 2023 and chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

“This group bridges the current state and Nigeria’s future as an industrial leader. Through stakeholder engagement, evidence-based policy development, and consistent implementation, the IRWG aims to redefine the industrial landscape.

“The IRWG Mandate: Rejuvenating, Innovating, and Elevating Nigeria’s Industrial Future. The IRWG is established with an unequivocal purpose: to design, champion, and implement industrial strategies that will resurrect dormant industries, empower the next generation of manufacturers, and strategically integrate Nigeria into the global industrial economy.

“This is not a pursuit of superficial aspirations; it is a quest for measurable, tangible, and paradigm-shifting achievements.”

In his keynote speech, a former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said over the years, the country has been grappling with industrial stagnation outdated policies and infrastructural decay.

“For decades, Nigeria has grappled with the challenge of industrial stagnation, where once-thriving industries have succumbed to inefficiencies, outdated policies, infrastructural decay, and global competition,” he said.

Aganga suggested that for the IRWG to there must be “clear execution strategies with measurable milestones, strict adherence to timelines and accountability frameworks, Continuous engagement with local and international investors.

In addition, he said there must be  “shared commitment to the principles of industrial excellence.

“To our partners in government, industry, finance, and academia—this is our moment.

“Let history remember us as the generation that refused to let Nigeria remain a consumer economy, that fought to revive our industries, and that took bold and decisive steps to create an industrial revolution worthy of the greatness of this nation,” he added.