THE Lagos State Police Command has warned owners of abandoned and accident vehicles parked at Ogudu,Orile, Sabo and Iju Division to remove them or lose them through auction two weeks after this publication.
The vehicles are: Varagon Bus unregistered, Volkswagen Bus XH577AGL, Toyota Camry BDG 130 AL, Toyota Camry FJ 11 KJA, Toyota Corolla car unregistered, Toyota Camry BR 229 KTU
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said yesterday that a new Vehicle Credit Finance Scheme to make new cars affordable to the ordinary Nigerian would be in place in the next four months as the details of the scheme is being worked out.
The minister said that the financing scheme is a combination of palliative measures, including partnering with banks towards having a common pool of funds for lending at concessionary interest rate of not more than 10 percent to potential car owners.
He said it is only in Nigeria that cars are purchased on cash-and-carry basis.
With the new financing scheme, Nigerians will be able to buy new cars assembled in Nigeria at an interest rate of not more that 10 percent, repayable over a period of four years.
Clearing the air on the effects of the ongoing implementation of the Nigeria Automotive Industrial Plan, NAIDP, Aganga said there will be no increase in the prices of cars.
The Minister said: “The rumour that the federal government has increased the tariff on imported cars by 70 percent is incorrect and misleading. The Nigerian automotive manufacturers have already assured the government and all Nigerians that there is adequate stock of imported vehicles and that its members have not and will not increase the price of imported vehicles.”
He said that last year about 50,000 vehicles were imported at an estimated cost of $3 billion, while between January and June this year, 37,000 vehicles were imported before the take off of the auto policy.
He said: “Nigeria is the only country in the world where used vehicle were not banned following the introduction of the new automobile policy.
“This is because President Goodluck Jonathan had taken into consideration current socio-economic conditions and would not want to come up with any policy that will inflict more hardship on Nigerians.”
A mother and her nine-year-old son, narrowly escaped death at their Abakaliki Street home in Mile One, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when a commercial bus rammed into their living room.
An eyewitness said Mrs. Ngozi Dike and her son, Chiemem, were relaxing in their living room when the bus hit the house.
Mrs Dike said: “When I came back from work this morning, there was no power supply, I decided to lie down on the sofa in the living room.
“Shortly after, my son came in and sat on the single sofa opposite me, I suddenly heard something hit the wall, I jumped up and rushed my boy and ran out of the house.
“It was when I got out that I saw the bus hanging on our wall.
“The wall did not collapse immediately, it was being suspended by the bus, it was when the bus was removed that the wall crumbled.”
When The Nation visited the scene, the vehicle had been taken to the Mile One Police Station, where the driver was being detained.
Police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam said he was yet to get details from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
Manufacturers and distributors of commercial vehicles and trucks have affirmed their readiness to delight customers of their segments with the best of commercial vehicles and trucks at the forthcoming motor show.
This is to keep the pace with the growing demand for durable and efficient commercial vehicles and trucks by logistics and business entrepreneurs in the country. The eight Lagos Motor Fair and Autoparts Expo Nigeria, organised by BKG Exhibitions Limited and SENEXPO International Fairs, will holds at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island next month.
Some of the categories of commercial vehicles and trucks set to be at the venue of the event included: light and heavy duty trucks, tractor heads, tippers, trailers heads, tankers, cargo trucks, garbage trucks, 30-seater commercial Buses and pick-ups.
Leventis Motors, distributor of Volkswagen and Eicher brands, National trucks Manufacturers (NTM), the nation’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer and, First Automobile Workshop, distributor of FAW Trucks and buses are among companies warming up to showcase the best and latest from their stables.
According to the Chairman organising committee, Mr Ifeanyi Agwu, the aforementioned had agreed to continually create and consistently provide relevant, affordable and dependable automobiles to the Nigeria and ECOWAS markets for safe and convenient transfer of goods and people.
Agwu said: “These giants of truck distributorship in Nigeria while announcing their readiness to storm the fair arena with their wide range of heavy and light duty trucks, revealed their determination to unveil the best of the truck world to visitors at the fair.
Another category of automobiles where keen contest will be highly at play is the luxury car and bus sections. On parade, there will be the latest from Toyota Nigeria Limited, Stallion Motors will parade its multi brands of Honda, Audi, Porsche, Hyundai, Skoda, Mahindra and Volkswagen products, while KIA Motors will showcase the latest in the KIA family etc.
“From the lubricant section, Mobil, Oando, Coin Ventures and Lubcon Limited will be exhibiting the best in engine oils and transmission fluids. International Energy Insurance (IEI) will lead the financial sectors while Rosabon Nigeria Limited will showcase the best in Fleet Management and the chief regulator of automotive sector in the country, the National Automotive Council (NAC) will lead the government sector at the event.”
A BOMB-LADEN VolksWagon Golf 3 car abandoned by fleeing gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram sect members was yesterday recovered by the police in Kano.
Police Commissioner Musa Daura said the fleeing suspects engaged his men in a gun duel on the outskirts of the city – the North’s commercial capital.
According to Daura, the suspects opened fire immediately they sighted a police patrol van. But, according to him, they beat a retreat, with bullet wounds.
The items recovered from the car include: AK 47 rifle; assault rifle; 238 live ammunition of various calibers; rocket launcher; AK 47 magazines; seven Turkey Oil cans —stuffed with remote-control bombs; two cylinders with remote-control devices; 14 hand grenades; four rolls of wire connector; and 12 power source.
“On Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at about 213 hours, based on a tip-off, our men intercepted a Golf 3 vehicle marked AG 701 KTN in a village on the outskirts of Kano.
“The occupants of the vehicle, on sighting the patrol vehicle, opened fire and immediately, our men responded with superior power, which made the occupants to abandon their vehicle and escape with bullet wounds.
“The intention of these hoodlums was to cause havoc and destabilise peace, which will subsequently lead to economic and social sabotage in Kano State.
“However, my men sealed off the whole area with a view to identify and arrest the fleeing suspects. We are urging members of the public to continue supporting the Command and other security agencies in the state to restore the peace and tranquility we had been enjoying in the state for decades.
“We also have to contribute in whatever capacity to unmask the criminals in the state and reduce all sorts of crimes to the barest minimum.”
In Yobe State, a renewed clash between Joint Task Force (JTF) operatives and suspected members of the Boko Haram sect claimed the lives of four insurgents.
The clash was in Geidam, about 180 kilometres North of Damaturu, the state capital.
Geidam shares a common border with Meine-Soroa, a town in Niger Republic.
Spokesman for the JTF in Yobe, Lt. Lazarus Eli disclosed in a statement that the incident occurred at about 5pm yesterday when the gunmen attacked a JTF location in Geidam town.
He stated that the attackers were sufficiently repelled by the JTF men who killed four of them.
The statement also revealed that three AK47 rifles, five rifles magazines and 72 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunitions were recovered from the insurgents.
The JTF statement assures all law abiding and peace-loving people of its unflinching commitment to restore peace in the state.
The renewed attack came two days after some unknown gunmen attacked the Bara Divisional Police Station in Gulani Local Government Area.
A police corporal was killed in the attack which left two telecom masts destroyed.