NADDC moves to regulate used car market, partners with dealers’ association

By Moses Akaigwe

 National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the umbrella body of auto dealers, the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON) on Thursday held a meeting in Lagos where they deliberated on challenges confronting the auto market, resolving to collaborate henceforth to sanitise abd uplift the sector.

Chief Chuka Okonkwo (2nd from left) and other executive members of United Berger Motor Dealers Association/AMDON, Lagos State Chapter, at the NADDC/Motor Dealers engagement forum at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos

Held at the Radisson Blu, Ikeja Lagos, the maiden stakeholders’ engagement forum with the theme Import of Used Cars and Dealership Regulation in Nigeria, focused on the shared responsibilities on the part of both organisations and other groups in driving the growth of Nigeria’s automotive sector. The forum also highlighted the importance of collaboration, regulation, and innovation to build a sustainable and prosperous automotive ecosystem, including driving patronage of locally produced vehicles in the market .

Chairman of AMDON, Lagos State Chapter, Chief Don Metche Nnadiekwe (middle) and other leaders of the association at the NADDC/stakeholders meeting at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos.

Specifically, some of the issues that came to the fore at the first ever meeting between the NADDC and the dealers, included checking the importation and display of scrapped, undocumented and unhealthy vehicles; regulation of the market through proper registration of dealers; and promoting made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

All the participants in the engagement forum, including the representative of Nigeria Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA), underscored the need for closer collaboration between NADDC as the industry’s apex body, and the duto dealers.

Addressing the participants, the NADDC Director General, Mr. Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, spoke on the importance of regulating motor dealers to ensure the safety, environmental soundness, and long-term sustainability of the sector.

He assured of the council’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for the manufacturing of high-quality, locally assembled vehicles and positioning Nigeria as a global leader in automotive manufacturing.

Osanipin also noted the critical role of government patronage for locally assembled vehicles, as mandated by Executive Order 005, which encourages Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to support the local industry.

He explained that this initiative, along with a properly regulated motor dealer framework, would contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s automotive sector, ensuring that the market is filled with roadworthy and environmentally friendly vehicles.

He decried the current situation where vehicles that are subjects of dubious transactions and those that have been written off in their countries of first use, end up in the Nigerian market.

He acquainted the participants with the statutory mandate of the NADDC, which included

boosting vehicle production in view of the huge multiplier effects in the economy; initiation and supervision of policies for the manufacture of vehicles and components; and regulation of motor dealers.

Osanipin said the regulation of the auto dealers “is crucial for several reasons: To ensure the safety and environmental soundness of vehicles within the

market, to combat the illicit trade of smuggled, accidented,flooded, and aged vehicles, and to address the detrimental

impact of unregulated used vehicles on human life, the economy, and the environment.

“By effectively regulating Motor Dealers, we can safeguard public safety, protect the environment, and he local automotive industry.”

Also addressing the participants, the AMDON National President, Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, expressed gratitude to the NADDC for its transformative role in reshaping Nigeria’s automotive landscape.

He urged the NADDC to “assiduously work with AMDON in submitting a bill to regulate automobile business, that only registered Auto Dealers can buy, import,” as well as “provide fiscal and non fiscal incentives to the association, which will assist the union in carrying out its functions in providing NADDC with the required information and cooperation, to meet their set goals.”

Adedoyin acknowledged the challenges faced by motor dealers, including the high price tags locally produced vehicles, and limited purchasing power among Nigerians.

He, however, reiterated AMDON’s commitment to collaborating with the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA) to overcome these barriers and enhance the growth of the local automotive industry.

Adedoyin, who is an engineer, called for a more robust and effective vehicle dealership registration framework, emphasizing that this would not only facilitate a smoother working relationship between dealers and manufacturers, but also ensure the credibility of the dealers operating in Nigeria.

The AMDON President assured the engagement forum that the association has a strong partnership with the Nigerian Police Force to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

The Chairman of AMDON, Lagos State chapter, Chief Don Metche Nnadiekwe, blamed the pollution in the market partly on some Nigerians in the diaspora, who send “rickety vehicles” to Nigeria for sale through their relations.

Nnadiekwe, who said he was speaking from the experience of about 49 years in the auto market, echoed the call for AMDON members to have a place at the ports of entry in order to check the importation vehicles that are not healthy enough to enter the country.

The Chairman, Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA), Mr. Bawo Omagbitse, underscored the importance of the motor dealers in the industry, and expressed his association’s willingness to collaborate with AMDON.

SOmagbitse thumbed up for the NADDC DG for his disposition towards “breaking down barriers” and engaging AMDON for the first time “in a constructive manner” in order to move the industry forward.

Omagbitse urged all stakeholders to show concern over the continued smuggling of vehicles, some of which have outlived their usefulness, into the country, stating that that is here many areas of collaboration in the interest of the industry.

One such area, according to him, is in area providing for the market internally generated used vehicles.

The session concluded with a call for continued dialogue and cooperation to address industry challenges, improve local vehicle production, and ensure that Nigerian roads are filled with safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Nnadiekwe was accompanied to the meeting by other executive member of the Lagos State Chapter of AMDON, and leaders of United Berger Motor Dealers Association in Apapa, including Chief Chuka Okonkwo (Nnabuenyi).

Also present were AMDON executive members from other state chapters.