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Tag: automobile

  • How automobile sector can create jobs, by council

    How automobile sector can create jobs, by council

    Director General of National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, has said the sub-sector should be development to generate more jobs.

    The council, with African Association of Auto Manufacturers (AAAM), visited key automotive facilities in Enugu and Anambra states.

    Both organisations visited Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing and Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMCO).

    Osanipin said local industries should be given support to drive growth, improve quality, and create jobs.

     He noted Nigeria’s potential to leverage its manufacturing capability, especially in plastic components, to enhance its position in Africa’s auto market.

    Osanipin lauded Innoson’s advanced equipment and discussed future collaborations to meet international standards. He acknowledged ANAMCO’s infrastructure but noted production challenges due to market demand issues, and pledged government’s policies to stimulate local production.

    Innoson’s Founder, Innocent Chukwuma, praised the collaborative spirit of African manufacturers and their goal of expanding capacity.

     He reaffirmed his commitment to Federal Government’s CNG Automotive Initiative.

    Read Also: Fatgbems diversifies to real estate, other sectors

    Victoria Jerling, from German Association of the Automotive Industry noted Nigeria’s potential for German investment and local partnership. She stressed need for technical collaboration and standardisation.

    ANAMCO’s Director of Corporate Services, Uche Okeke, hailed the visit, showcasing ANAMCO’s third-party  agreements and readiness to assist industry stakeholders with high-quality production.

    The visit underscored efforts to enhance local automotive manufacturing and foster international collaboration.

  • Automobiles, Road Safety Initiative unveils training institute

    Automobiles, Road Safety Initiative unveils training institute

    Automobiles and Road Safety Initiative has established a West Africa Automotive Institute in Ilesa, Osun States, to educate young engineers.

    It said the idea developed from discovery that most mechanics lack training, and technology.

    President, Samuel Oriowo, spoke yesterday during a news conference in Lagos to present the 2nd Nigeria Annual Automobile Industry Award.

    Oriowo explained the facility would act as regional training for school-leavers and a centre for high-quality automotive education West Africa.

    He stressed the institute would improve access to high-quality automobile maintenance by building bridges to encourage trust, communication, and teamwork.

    Read Also: Lagos govt to increase Blue Line trips to 54 from Monday

    “The Board of Trustees discovered a percentage of the automobile repair or maintenance technicians are aging and not equipped, education wise, to embrace and acquire latest technology and developments as repairers of modern day automobiles that come with sophisticated brain boxes.

    “This led the board to establish the West Africa Automotive Institute whose infrastructure was launched December 2022 during the 1st Annual Automotive Industry Award at Lagos Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja. 

    The award will be held November 27 at same venue Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu, and his Borno State counterpart, Babagana Zulum; among others will be present.

    Deputy Corps Commander (Operations) at Lagos State Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lucas Oguntade hailed the training facility, adding many accidents could be linked to  malfunctioning vehicles.

  • Making Nigeria an automobile hub

    •A comprehensive review of the National Automotive is due

    Ordinarily, there couldn’t have been a better attestation to the efforts of the federal government to attract foreign direct investment to the economy than the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between her and the Volkswagen group to develop an automobile hub in Nigeria. But then, as always, the devil – going by Nigeria’s experience of previous MoUs– may yet lie in the details.

    Among other highlights of the MoU, Volkswagen will implement a phased approach to vehicle assembly starting with assembly kits with the long-term view of establishing Nigeria as automotive hub for the sub-region. Also included in the package is a provision for the establishment of a training academy to develop local automotive skills just as Volkswagen on its part looks forward to comprehensive vehicle and service network to be developed – subject to commercial viability – in the long term.

    More than two decades after it shut down its assembly plants in the country, it is certainly significant that a global player in the automotive sector likeVolkswagen is not only set to return but makes clear that it is set for the long haul –all things being equal.

    In a clime where basic infrastructure ordinarily taken for granted in other environments are still largely non-existent, and where even the best conceived government policies are at best in a flux, the two caveats – ‘subject to commercial viability’ and ‘all things being equal’ obviously highlights the dangers ahead.  More than that, they constitute grim determinants of whether or not the MoU is actually worth the piece of paper on which it is written.

    It is certainly worth recalling here that a private auto company, the Stallion Group, had in 2015 moved to assemble the Volkswagen brand of vehicles in furtherance to the National Automotive Industrial Plan. So, what is the difference between the 2015 plan by Stallion Group and the current pact between the federal government and Volkswagen Group since both in effect are not only pushing the same brand but have declared the same set of objectives?

    Moreover, if we understood the intent of the National Automotive Policy introduced in October 2013 by the federal government as a move to provide level playing ground for all eligible entrants into the sector, the question is whether this action does not confer a special advantage on a particular player at the expense of others.

    Needles to state that the 2013 national automotive policy – warts and all – remains relevant, if not critical to the quest to transform the local auto industry. Unfortunately, whereas the Buhari administration seems to have settled for the easy path – the high tariff and levy on imported vehicles (used and new) – it has done very little to address, in any fundamental sense, the other critical elements needed for the emergence of a vibrant automotive industry. These are the generally poor state of our infrastructure, the rather limited technical skills pool and the complete absence of consumer credit among others. As a result, Nigerians continue to put up with the pain of high cost of imported vehicles even when local auto firms are yet to move beyond their initial promises to establish assembly plants locally.

    On the whole, we consider the pact with Volkswagen a good step forward only if it does not preclude other important players in the sector from enjoying the same advantages. Indeed, if only in the spirit of the automotive policy, the federal government should be seen to be talking to all stakeholders in the automotive value chain. At this time, Nigeria should be seen to be pushing for a futuristic auto and trade policy. At a time of renewed push for a continental free trade area, the biggest economy on the continent deserves no less. Indeed, the federal government should make haste to address the identified bottlenecks impeding manufacturing capacity lest it be caught off guard when it finally signs on.

  • Economy: Automobile investments to the rescue

    To the Federal Government, turning the economy around is a task that must be accomplished. It has adopted an automotive policy that will restore assembly plants, develop local content and reduce pressure on the balance of payment. Edo State Government has keyed into the diversification strategy by sealing a $500 million auto assembly plant deal with Chinese investors. COLLINS NWEZE writes on the deal’s expected impact on the economy.

    WHERE is global focus on the automobile industry. The sector is being watched with keen interest as an engine of growth with capacity to generate employment opportunities.

    Besides, it is viewed as a sector that can encourage the growth of other satellite industries, enhance technology transfer and serve as catalyst for the expansion of the economy. And the Federal Government is not leaving anything to chance. It is beaming the searchlight on the sector as part of ways to diversify the economy from oil.

    As a matter of fact, the government plans to revamp the automobile policy and set up auto parks to promote the sector, the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah has disclosed.

    Speaking at the Nigeria-German Business Forum in Lagos, the minister said the government will also grant fiscal incentives, including a five-year tax holiday for pioneer foreign businesses.

    “Revamping the auto policy is in the works. The auto-policy is being finanalised and signed into law,” he said, adding that the turnaround in auto-industry will happen very soon.

    According to the minister, the government will continue to support foreign companies operating in Nigeria through fiscal incentives.

    Many states are already helping the government to explore business and economic opportunities in the automobile industry.

    Edo Automotive Industry Investment Forum

    The administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki recently organised the Edo Automotive Industry Investment Forum as part of efforts to link the vast economic opportunities in the global auto industry.

    The forum was in line with the state’s economic diversification strategy, in addition to the $500 million auto assembly plant deal between Edo State Government and Chinese investors.

    At the forum, the first of its kind in Benin City, were 36 chief executive officers of leading global auto brands and component suppliers. They include representatives of BMW, NISSAN, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Bosch, Jaguar, and Deloitte, a consulting company as well as Uber.

    Others were representatives of the global auto makers, including: Graffiti SA, Nissan, Toyota, Deloitte, Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA), Automotive Industry Development Center, DataDot Technology, Standard Bank of South Africa, International Finance Corporation and Afropulse Group.

    The meeting between the Edo State government and chief executives of German, Japanese, American, British and other European car manufacturers, was premised on the emerging investor-friendly climate in the state and how the companies can leverage on the Benin Auto Park’s proximity to the Benin Industrial Park.

    The forum offered the opportunity to unveil the state government’s agenda for the auto sector and the opportunities for investors. The prospective investors had the opportunity to visit the auto trading site on Sapele Road and the future trading site at the Industrial Park, also on Sapele Road.

    It also featured a session on the state government’s blueprint for the automotive sector which includes job creation for Edo people, the local sourcing of car components amid an environment of high exchange rate regime and volatility, which makes local sourcing of components cost-effective.

    In his presentation, Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen South Africa, Thomas Scheafer, said: “We have the mandate of our parent companies to be here. What we are trying to do in Nigeria is to reach out in a brotherly fashion and say to you, ‘come on, let’s get this done.’ For years, we have been discussing with the government. But, now, we are committed to finding out ways on how to get Nigeria to where it should be and play its role on the continent.

    “Edo State will be the nucleus for us as Nigeria as a large automotive industry that is worth exploring. Nigeria is good for at least two million cars a year. That will multiply the jobs on the continent. So where does it start?

    Speaking on Governor Obaseki’s commitment to driving the state’s diversification as a major pull, he said: “We invested in Rwanda, one of the smallest countries on the continent. Why? Because they have great policies and because they wanted to create employment. In Rwanda, we put our money where our mouth is. We are ready to invest in Nigeria and today, we are happy with what we have seen in Edo State and the commitment of the governor.”

    Director, Sales/Operations, Nissan South Africa, Jim Dando, said the automotive industry was excited about the wave of diversification in Nigeria, particularly in the automotive sector, noting that it was great news that Edo State government was taking the lead.

    He said: “We have been discussing the industrialisation of Nigeria for some time now. With the previous government, we were able to create an industrial and automotive policy. What we need to do now is to put the automotive policy in place and drive it with states like Edo.”

    To the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Jelani Aliyu, the Benin Auto Park has at least two scenarios for growth, “with this support by the state government, I see the state becoming a hotbed for automobile sales. The first instance will see the state grow from supplying used cars to brand new cars. Also, we see the influx of automobile component makers, who are also here.”

    Obaseki told investors that the state has a thriving automotive market that services the Niger Delta market, parts of the North and even South Western Nigeria, as “Benin City boasts of a stock of not less than half a million cars. We want the companies to work within and even go beyond what the national automotive council provides.

    According to Aliyu, across the globe, the automotive industry plays both strategic and catalytic role in economic development with its contribution to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

    For instance in South Africa, the auto industry alone contributes seven per cent of GDP as it is considered as critical component of the economy where it generates 350,000 jobs translating as the second largest employer of labour. The industry also boasts of a market of 600,000 new cars with zero importation with 12 per cent of exports.

    In Egypt, it employs directly and indirectly, 600,000 people in and attracted an investment of over $5 billion. It is the second source of foreign exchange after the Suez Canal.

    The auto industry plays extensive role in driving the growth and development of Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (MSMEs) with respect to automotive parts, components and services and the attendant job creation. The Benin Auto Park will contribute to the plan by the Obaseki-led administration to support the growth of over 20, 000 micro, small and medium enterprises in addition to the creation of over 50, 000 associated jobs in the next four years.

    During a visit to auto dealers on the Benin-Sapele Highway by participants at the forum, a dealer with Idris and Sons Motors told the delegation that the corridor hosts at least 100 dealers, with thousands of vehicles in their inventory.

    Road to industrilisation

    Building an industrialised society demands a great deal of work. Aside the need for strong, supportive structures that drive innovation and mechanisation of process, there is also the unyielding vision of a leader to drive the process and ensure that in the long run, the vision is sustained.

    Hence, many industrial societies are sustained by formidable structures and institutions that ensure not only ample supply of human resources but also drive innovation among the populace.

    So, in a case where the focus is to ramp up manufacturing, it is only logical to groom the manpower, attract investors, and create the enabling environment for everyone to work harmoniously with the right policy framework.

    In Edo, Obaseki has his eyes on the ball. With a daunting vision to recast the state as an industrial hub in Nigeria, he is pulling every available string to attract investors, build local capacity and create wealth for the state and its people.

    The governor’s vision for driving industrial growth and development revolves around the belief that local capacity development is essential. This conviction informed his prioritisation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which according to him, is the bedrock of the vision to transform Edo into an industrial hub.

    To achieve this, the government under his watch, has embarked on the construction of workshops, classrooms, laboratories, resource centres and purchase of top-of-the-range equipment for the Government Science and Technical College (GSTC), in Benin City, formerly known as Benin Technical College.

    The reconstruction work will equip the college with requisite equipment for world-class technical and vocational education and training. The redesigning of the college is aimed at developing local capacity for the companies that are setting up in the state.

    As part of the state’s industrialisation drive, the rehabilitation of the college will provide a facility for model technical education to produce critical technical manpower for industries making in-roads into the state, in the wake of a spike in investments by manufacturing companies, among others.

    As part of the reconstruction work, nine existing buildings will be refurbished, while four classroom blocks, two workshops, a specialist training centre as well as general site for works and services, will be constructed.

    The college will be fitted with equipment that would enable students obtain skills and knowledge in various aspects of vocational education to enable them act as drivers of the industrialisation policy in the state in line with global trends.

     

    •To be Continued

  • Firms sue Hyundai over ‘defective automobile’

    Firms sue Hyundai over ‘defective automobile’

    Two companies, Media Seal Limited (formerly Starcom Media Services Limited) and Bytesize Limited, have sued Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited at the Lagos High Court  in Ikeja for allegedly selling defective automobile to them.

    Along with Mr. Ayo Oluwatosin, they are seeking a declaration that a Hyundai Grand Santa Fe GLS 3.3L, with Chassis number: KMHSN81EDFU097184 and Engine No: G6DFEA34538 sold to them by Hyundai Motors is not fit for the purpose for which it was bought.

    They are also praying the court for an order that Hyundai Motors refunds N15,595,000 being the amount paid for the car.

    The claimants are also praying for an order that they be paid N50million for alleged breach of contract, and another N100million as general damages.

    The claimants sough an order compelling the defendant to pay 15 per cent interest to the sums from the day the suit was filed till judgment is given, and 25 per cent interest from the day judgment is given till the sum is liquidated.

    In their statement of claim filed by their counsel, Wale Ogunade, the claimants said they bought four vehicles from Hyundai on June 1, 2016. The defective car, they said, was bought on October 5, 2016.

    The claimants said the cars were delivered to them on October 6 and June 2, 2016.

    According to them, when the vehicle was driven between October 21 and 26, 2016, they discovered that it had a brake problem, which they brought to Hyundai Motors’ attention.

    Oluwatosin said he met with the company’s representatives, where Hyundai Motors allegedly demanded N4million to replace the defective car.

    Hyundai Motors denied culpability in the transaction. It claimed that it conducted extensive pre-delivery test on every component parts of the vehicles.

    The defendant said all the vehicles were found to be in perfect condition before they were handed over to customers.

  • NLC, TUC picket firm over 19 month’s unpaid salaries

    NLC, TUC picket firm over 19 month’s unpaid salaries

    The Nigerian Labour Congress, (NLC) Trade Union Congress (TUC) and United Action for Democracy (UAD) have picketed Galba Nigerian Plc., for its failure to pay its workers over a period of 19 months.

    The protest which was organised in  Port Harcourt  by staff members of Automobile, Boatyards, Transport Equipment and Allied Senior Staff Association, was to press down the demand for the payment of the salaries of the workers.

    Staff members of the company accused the firm of negligence, noting that the firm had money and running contracts but had refused to pay their workers.

    Speaking, the General Secretary of UTOBATE, Mr. Sola Olorunfemi, said every effort made to bring the company to the dialogue table for discussion failed.

    Olorunfemi said “We came all the way from Lagos after all efforts to engage the Galba management in meaningful discussion proved abortive. They owe the workers since 2015 November. We have made the TUC in River State to dialogue with the company over this matter.

    “But the management has been playing pranks for over 18 months now in order not to get this salaries paid. The union check-up dues deducted from the salaries of the workers since 2010 have not been remitted to the union and it’s a criminal act.

    “We have recorded about five persons dead over the level of suffering inflicted on the workers by the company. We sent a message to the owner of the company, T Y Danjuma about the wickedness of the management; we are yet to get reply.

    “We will hold this company hostage, there will be no practical operation in this premises until our demand are met. The company has money, they even have an on-going contract but they don’t want to pay the workers.”

    Similarly, the branch chairman of AUTOBATE, Galba, Innocent Udongfo, called on the management of the firm to meet their demands for operations to resume at the company.

    Udongfo said, “Several negotiations with Galba management could not work because they always want to play over our intelligence. They don’t even listen to us. Anytime we have opportunity to meet with the management they will walk us out.

    “We are working for almost five oil giants in this country yet they owe us. Each time we go for our salary it is a problem. Federal Ministry of Labour Port Harcourt is aware of this issue. We had agreement with the Federal Ministry of Labour since 2013 till now we are still suffering.

    “We can no longer pay our rents and our children are out of school. We are calling on the management to pay our salaries from 2015 till today. And to remit all our union dues from 2010 till date. They should implement our total emolument of the condition of service duly signed in the employment manual.

    Also, Mr. Eric Akaninwo, the TUC State Administrative Officer, said the labour unions are behind the staff of Galba and promised that the needful must been down before the company would be reopened.

    Akaninwo said, “We have invited the Galba management for a meeting, unfortunately, the only person we saw there was the Personnel manager, we asked him questions about why they don’t want to pay their worker. He said that they don’t have money and that they have a running contract.

    “When we engaged the Galba staffs they said they have a running contract that they even finished one two months ago. After our investigations we understood they don’t want to pay the workers.”

    Efforts to speak to the Manager of Galba Nigerian Plc, Mr. Mike Appia, proved abortive as calls made to his phone were neither picked nor returned, but the Personnel in charge of Administration, Mr. Dan Adi, stated that he had nothing to say in respect of the claims of the staff of the company.

     

  • Please, review National Automobile Policy

    I deign to begin this article by making oblique reference to your well-researched piece published in The Nation, February 26th, 2017 with the title: ‘Vehicles import ban: It’s business as usual.’ That piece, to say the least, was very informative and deserves commendation. That said, I wish to state here that a careful perusal of the different policy pronouncements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the last 18 months shows that nothing much has really changed in the way government works, especially if one takes a very dispassionate look at the policy matrix of government in terms of its objective purpose.

    For the avoidance of doubt and confusion, a few examples would suffice here. Take the recent ban on the importation of vehicles through the land borders announced on 5th December 2016 and whose implementation began 1st January 2017, that policy has clearly shown that this government lacks tact and diplomacy.

    I dare say that the outright ban of vehicles through the borders is not just a kneel-jerk approach to issues but does appear to be a hand-wriggling gesture by a government utterly confused about how to handle a less complex problem at hand.

    Clearly, rather than rely on executive fiat or brute force as the case may be, a more holistic approach which recognises the unintended consequences of state policies should be readily adopted.

    No policy(s) of government, however well-meaning, should be injurious to the socio-economic, physical and psychological wellbeing of the people to whom such a policy(s) was intended in the first place.

    However, before I go any further, at this juncture, I wager that it would be most appropriate to take a short historical excursion into what actually led to the new policy regime banning vehicle import across the land borders.

    The last administration, it may be recalled, had initiated a new automotive policy that raised the duty paid on imported vehicles from 20 percent to 70 percent, covering 35 percent duty and 35 percent levy, effective from 2014.

    The policy was aimed at discouraging importation and increase patronage for locally assembled cars. It may, however, interest you to note that that policy from all intent and purpose has been totally counterproductive, to say the least.  The reason being that the policy favours just a few to the detriment of the vast majority, whose livelihoods and businesses depend solely on import, especially car dealers who buy between 5-10 cars, make small margins and continue the cycle.

    With a few exceptions, especially PAN Nigeria Limited, the leading manufacturer of automobiles in Nigeria, assembling Peugeot vehicles has an installed capacity to produce 90,000 cars per annum in three shifts with ample space for future expansion and can generate direct employment for over 5000 people. The PAN model is a good one to follow but unfortunately that has not been so with many of the assembling plants. For instance, investigations revealed that some of the assembling companies camouflaged under the processes and import almost a readymade vehicle that may not necessarily require engaging the kind of manpower the government wishes they would engage in the first place. Aside being a loss of revenue for the federal government as they may not get what would have accrued to them as taxes and levies, it appears a disservice, deception to Nigerians.

    Of what benefit then is the less than 10% importation levy on the completely knocked down parts (CKD) and the semi knocked down parts (SKD) given as rebate for these companies to provide jobs for Nigerians, particularly the youth? While not making a case for importers of readymade vehicles who import and paid 70% on their imported vehicles, it is feared that this imbalance may not bring anything positive to the Nigerian economy both in the short term and on the long run.

    Going forward, what the government needs to do therefore is to first consider tinkering with the subsisting automotive policy and weigh in on it because the policy as it is presently implemented is a disincentive to business both in the short, medium to long term.

    More than that, there is a serious need for the reorientation of the officers and men of the Nigerian Customs Service, who are expected to enforce most of these policies in question. They are human after all and hence can be malleable as past experience has shown.

    Methinks that if the federal government takes a step further and scrap the high import duty regime imposed on vehicles by the administration of President Jonathan in 2013 and return the import duties on vehicles to 20 percent from the prohibitive 70 percent tariff imposed by the former administration, the reversal will serve as an incentive for Nigerians to import legitimately through the seaports and make appropriate payments to government.

    Adeyemi Timothy

    Abuja.

  • Automobile Council reviews curriculum

    In line with new technologies in the automobile industry, the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), has updated the curriculum for automechatronics in Nigeria.

    The curriculum will help train auto technicians to become conversant with innovations in cars and how to make repairs.

    The curriculum underwent a critical assessment at a two-day workshop held at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Airport Road last Thursday.

    Director General, (NADDC) Mr Aminu Jalal said the curriculum was initially developed in 2010 and due for review in 2015 but was eventually completed last year to remedy the skill gap noted in a survey done in 2010.

    He noted that the curriculum is supposed to be reviewed every five years but the previous one which was created in the 1960s has been in use until it was halted in 2016 following the collaboration of Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the auto industry practitioners, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the German Technical Cooperation among others.

    He explained that the old curriculum which had three levels – Trade Test III, II and I is now being replaced with a competency-based curriculum using the concept of modularisation as enshrined in Competence Based Education and Training (CBET).  He added that its certification is equal to a degree.

    “We discovered that most of our vehicles are full electronic and you will agree with me that our mechanics today are finding it difficult to repair these cars.

    “We identify individual mechanics, his needs, his challenges and what he needs to improve. Today’s cars have gone electronic – that is – the car can talk to you, the car can tell you its problems and you know it is the electronics unit that does those things. It is no longer loosening and tightening as before.So what NADDC is doing is to ensure that they make those mechanics close to the car so that they can master them,” he said.

    Engineer Yakubu Pakshar, President, Automative Sector Skills Council, said 51 courses in the new curriculum were designed to be delivered at three levels – 16 courses at the basic stage, 21 at the intermediate stage and 14 at the final stage, with developed instructional manuals and teaching materials.

    Also to ensure competency in Mechatronic Education, NBTE in partnership with other stakeholders have updated the National Occupational Standard (NOS) into five levels for the certification of graduates in this field.

    Jalal said the essence of the NOS “will in the future put out-of-school children, adults, graduates and apprentices at both formal and informal setting in their rightful positions as far as skill acquisition is concerned.

    “It is also designed for the development, classification and recognition of skills, knowledge and competencies acquired by individuals irrespective of where and how the skill was acquired”.

  • K1 to promote Geely automobile

    K1 to promote Geely automobile

    As Governor Biola Ajimobi of Oyo State prepares for the take-off of Geely Automobiles project, one celebrity who is expected to influence fans to patronise the relatively new product is Fuji music star, Wasiu Ayinde, aka K1 De Ultimate.

    Sources say everything is in place for the auto brand that will be assembled in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, before the end of the first quarter of this year, and K1 will soon be launched publicly as its brand ambassador.

  • Labour seeks probe of automobile industry

    Labour seeks probe of automobile industry

    Members of the Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria (SEWUN) have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the sale of automobile firms by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), some years ago.

    They are asking for a review of the privatisation process, claiming that due process was not followed in the sale of the companies.

    The National President of the union, Elijah Adigun, in his address, at this year’s Annual Industrial Relations Conference in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, urged the Federal Government to set up a probe panel  to look into the sale of automobile industries and to determine why the guidelines provided for in the Privatisation Act, to the effect that the controlling shares of these companies should be sold to core investors, was not followed in the sale of these companies by the BPE.

    He insisted that for President Buhari to succeed with his agenda of creating jobs, he should take a second look at the privatisation by BPE, as no company privatised in the iron and steel industrial group is doing well.

    “For instance, Anammco Limited, National Truck, Steyr Nigeria Limited, Leyland Nigeria Limited are companies sold to auto traders instead of core investors who have knowledge, expertise and skills of vehicle manufacturing.

    The labour leader noted that before the privatisation of the auto plants, they had a combined workforce of nearly 7,000 compared to about 300 workers they now have, cummulatively.

    “It will interest you to know that before the privatisation of these auto plants, they had a combined workforce of nearly 7,000 compared with about 300 workers they have now,” he stated.

    “Clearly, the figure here is an indication that the privatisation of these companies has brought economic woes and wastages to the country, rather than the blessing envisaged by the Federal Government. Even salaries are hardly paid to their workers,” he said.

    Adigun, who expressed his union’s support for the Buhari-led administration’s battle against corruption, said it should not be selective and should be extended beyond the last regime to ensure that those who illegally appropriated the nation’s wealth are brought to book.

    He called on the government to grow the economy by exploiting other natural resources to create wealth and generate employment, adding that government needs to look at other areas apart from oil sector.

    The General Secretary of the union, Michael Ogbolu, in his paper, said the theme of the conference, “Survival strategies in an unfriendly environment-the Nigeria experience”, was quite appropriate, given that corruption has brought Nigeria to its knees.

    Calling for urgent attention to rejuvenate the power sector which he said holds the key to the restoration of the manufacturing sector,  Ogbolu expressed dismay that most vibrant factories in the past have been converted to places of worship due to unfavourable business environment.

    He condemned the insurgency in the Northeastern part of the country, which he said has a negative effect on its members’ companies’ volume of trade, leading to the loss of jobs in the sector.

    His words: Our Country which was a lucrative market for P.Z Industry Nigeria Plc, Dagcom Nigeria Limited, Jubaili Brothers Nigeria Limited, J.M.G. Limited and Cummings (West Africa) Limited, among others, has totally lost its share of the market in the region.”

    He praised Buhari for the efforts to remove Nigeria from the list of pariah nation’s and work in synergy with comity of nations to end insurgency in the North East of Nigeria, so that we can live in harmony with one destiny and restore the market volume of our inndustry.