The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) is intensifying efforts to create an intervention fund for the automotive industry in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja, the Director General of NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said the Council is in discussions with development banks and other partners to actualize the project.
Osanipin stated that the funding gap in the sector is estimated at between $1 trillion and $5 trillion.
“We are working on that (funding), not only with the Development Bank; we are exploring other ways to secure funding, including sources outside Nigeria.
We are in discussions with various entities to access funds dedicated to the auto industry.
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“For us, we are not investors; we are only trying to initiate the process. For this sector to achieve the desired growth, it will require close to $1 trillion in funding, but it doesn’t have to be all at once,” he stated.
The DG explained further, “As a starting point, we can allocate approximately $1 billion. These are the kinds of discussions we are having with our funding partners.
It’s not for the council; it’s for the players, such as Innoson, PAN in Kaduna, and JAC. For example, for Innoson to move to the next level, the company may need funding in the millions of dollars.
All these auto firms need this funding, and significant amounts are still required.”
Speaking on the Council’s plans for the accreditation and certification of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered vehicle conversion workshops in Nigeria, Osanipin said the Council will use the National Occupational Standard (NOS) to train Nigerians.
“The first thing we did to promote CNG was to consider the availability of CNG vehicles. That’s why we developed the NOS and secured NABTEB certification approvals. We will use the curriculum to train Nigerian engineers on that.
“Number two is the accreditation of workshops. You can go to our website and apply. When applying, you need to provide information about the facility and the personnel. The facility is not going to be fixed for conversion.
“For us to certify the personnel, you have to show us that they are capable and have completed the training using the curriculum.
Once you have completed the training and obtained the certification, we can accredit the workshop. With the workshop accredited, we move on to the next step, which is conversion and maintenance,” he concluded.
