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Tag: VON

  • VON refutes claims of economic sabotage

    VON refutes claims of economic sabotage

    The Volkswagen automobile group of Nigeria (VON) has refuted claims by the chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, Hope Uzodinma, to the effect that the company is sabotaging the economy.

    A statement by Managing Director of the VON Automobiles, Mr. Tokunbo Aromolaran, yesterday denied allegations of economic sabotage or any other form of non-compliance or wrongdoing in its business operations.

    According to the statement, the Chairman of the Senate Committee, in company of about 30 people, comprising senators, officers of Nigerian Customs Service, pressmen and policemen descended on the VON premises on October 28  without prior notification.

    ”They were given free access to our plants and warehouses and found nothing other than what you would expect to see in an auto assembly plant – an inventory of vehicles assembled awaiting delivery. We also confirmed that applicable duties were paid at the ports when the components were imported into the country,” the company said, adding:

    ”VON is a company that has collaborated with several multinational automotive giants in bringing foreign investments and technology into Nigeria, thereby setting the foundation for the country to become the region’s leader in automotive industry.

    ”Having invested in the largest capacity for assembly of vehicles in Nigeria, VON prides itself as a responsible and committed organisation, sincerely dedicated to the country’s economic development.

    ”Governed by a strict compliance framework and business ethics, VON has not and never will engage in any activity that would sabotage the economy in any manner whatsoever.

    ”The Volkswagen assembly plant is a duly licensed facility, approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Automotive Council, Ministry of Trade and Industry and other relevant authorities. The plant has been inspected several times by Federal Government officials, National Automotive Council, SON Nigeria and others from time to time.

    ”The plant marked the historic return of the global auto major Volkswagen to Nigeria after several years. VON has been a pioneer in supporting the Federal Government’s objectives in establishing Nigeria as the regional hub for the automotive industry.

    ”The assembly plant operations were duly audited and approved by the Volkswagen team from Germany, prior to the commencement of assembly.

    ”The company’s personnel employed in the facility are fully trained (at Volkswagen Germany and Lagos) technically to assemble vehicles in Nigeria, in accordance with established international standards applicable to Volkswagen worldwide.”

    The statement faulted the claim that the reference made in media reports to a large number of vehicles in the assembly plant is a standard practice in any automobile plant everywhere in the world.

    “As an auto assembly operation, this is what one would expect to find. In line with the auto policy, we imported semi-knocked-down parts and have engaged hundreds of Nigerians who are engaged in assembling same to fully built units. All applicable duties and levies on Volkswagen vehicles stored at VON have been paid to the Nigeria Customs (SKD vehicle kits and fully built units). This can be verified by the Nigerian Customs Service.

    “The assembly plant has not violated or contravened any regulations and has duly complied with all stipulated procedures for the importation and assembly of Volkswagen or any products.

    “Like other automotive plants in the country, the assembly plant is currently not running to full capacity, given the general economic condition in the country, poor market demand and the non availability of adequate foreign exchange. A visit to other automotive plants in the country will convince the Senate committee that our experience is no different from other auto plants in the country.”

    The statement reiterated the commitment of the Volkswagen to the new Automotive Policy, which it promises to operationalize in its plants.

     

  • VON chief to MASSOB, IPOB: forget Biafra agitation

    The Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, at the weekend urged separatist groups to forget their self-actualisation agitation and support President Muhammadu Buhari to rid the country of corruption.

    Okechukwu said he supported the President’s position that if Nigerians failed to kill corruption, it would kill the nation.

    The VON chief noted that ethnic merchants and religious bigots hid under such fault lines to corruptly enrich themselves.

    Okechukwu spoke in Enugu at a reception organised for him and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, by their kinsmen, under the aegis of Ekeh Progressives Forum (EPF).

    Among the groups clamouring to breakaway from Nigeria are: the Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Niger Delta Avengers and similar new movements.

    Delivering a speech, titled: True Federalism: Panacea or Placebo to Nigeria’s Paralysis? Eke Town as a Case Study, at a dinner part of the reception, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) blamed greed and corruption for the inequality in the country.

    Speaking before an audience, which included former Vice President Alex Ekwueme and former Senate President Ken Nnamani, the VON chief recalled that President Buhari, in his 2015 Chatham House speech, described the inequality in the country as the tiny island of the affluent in the ocean of misery.

    Okechukwu said: “Corruption, in all its ramifications, not just the fleecing of the state fund, includes petty human frailties, like jealousy, hate, stereotypes and prejudice. We shall presently return to these two opaque pages of the same epitaph of greed and corruption and commonly misunderstood theme.

    “These two opaque pages may help us to show that ethnicity and religion play less crucial roles in our dysfunction than greed and its grandson, corruption. Ethnicity and religion are more of the tools of scavengers and predators. It would amaze us to look closely at our communities, local council areas and zones. We are most likely to find that they are the victims of the cankerworm called corruption.

  • VON refutes claims on vehicle price increase

    VON Automobile Limited Managing Director Mr Tokunbo Aromolaran has described as baseless fragments of insinuations currently making the rounds that the implementation of the revised automotive policy  could result in disproportionate price increase of vehicles.

    Aromolaran debunked claims of price surge, saying people naturally resist change to preserve the status quo instead of carefully studying the value chain arising from local vehicle assembly operations and determine the immense benefits of new policy.

    Citing available new vehicular statistics of about 37, 500 imports to the country by May 2014, representing 72 per cent of annual imports, Aromolaran said price increase at this time would be spontaneous, uncalled-for and inexcusable.

    “The easiest campaign launched against the policy was the propaganda that it will lead to price escalation, unknown to critics that tariff was only used as a tool to redirect incentives to the value-adding segment that is germane to the success of Nigeria industrial revolution agenda,” he said.

    Also dismissing critics’ allegations of infrastructural inadequacy, Aromolaran said: “No nation has had to wait until its infrastructures are in place to venture into production, remarking that resources are only channelled to areas where the country has comparative advantage, which when diligently developed could make it competitive.”

    He recalled that the Federal Government was pre-emptive of the fall-out of the policy initiative and had introduced measures to cushion the effect of an adjustment in tariff of imported and locally produced vehicles with recourse to price.

    “At first, government delayed the implementation of the policy by six months to allow importers adjust their plans and afterwards extended the implementation of tariff on used vehicles to December 2014 to allow more inventories berth and consequently drive down prices of vehicles,” he said.

    Similarly, some members of NAMA such as Stallion Nissan Motors Nigeria Limited had announced the commencement of ‘B’ segment compact sedan – Nissan Almera in May 2014 while Hyundai Motors Nigeria also proclaimed the beginning of production of A, B, C – segment Hyundai i10, Accent and Elantra and compact SUV iX35, all in a bid to ensure product availability and price stabilisation.