[size=16pt]Jonathan to open Innoson auto plant [/size]

The multi-billion naira Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited (IVM) auto plant built by a well known Nnewi industrialist, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, OON, will be commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday, September 9, 2010.

The official opening of the Nnewi plant is expected to usher in a new phase in the nation’s auto industry, which has had a not-too-successful trajectory, with a good number of the auto assembly companies established by government between the 1970s and the 1980s, either dead now or gasping for breath.

The occasion may provide the Federal Government an appropriate forum to make pronouncements in line with the renewed efforts towards helping the industry recover from years of retrogression. Recently, Vice President Namadi Sambo constituted a committee headed by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mrs Josephine Tapgun, which looked into the problems of the sub-sector and made recommendations on how to bring about growth and development.

Sources close to the Commerce and Industry Ministry said recently that the President and his deputy have been studying the documents submitted by the Tapgun committee, and were likely to act on it soon.
Only last week, the Minister of State herself toured the new Nnewi plant where, by her own admission, she was amazed by the courage displayed by Chief Chukwuma, the huge investments so far made by the entrepreneur and the volume of production activities raging within the complex.

Mrs Tapgun had said during the visit: “I am highly impressed with what is available here. Chief Chukwuma is an individual, but doing what the government is supposed to do. The auto plant is a big plus in terms of employment generation. The Chairman said that this place is only producing at 30 percent of its actual capacity. One wonders what will happen when it starts operating fully”

The minister also remarked that if more auto plants like Innoson’s are established in the country, “the youths would smile and forget about unemployment. Chief Chukwuma’s initiative is amazing and I think he needs to be encouraged”.

Mrs Tapgun said her visit which came about three weeks ahead of the expected commissioning of the plant by President Jonathan, was as a result of the urge to see things for herself and seek ways of supporting the project. “The intervention fund available for the industries is a huge relief for people like him. And I expect him to benefit from it”.

Receiving the guest, Chief Chukwuma said the plant was facing many challenges which may make full capacity utilization a difficult task. “Like any other industrialists in Nigeria, my challenge is enormous, but I will continue to forge ahead hoping that government will take the right steps for things to improve”.

Pending official commissioning, IVM commenced operations some months ago with a combined team of mainly Nigerian technicians and a few expatriates from the Chinese technical partners. Mini, midi and mass transit buses, as well as pick-ups and SUVs are produced on demand for customers, some of whom use the vehicles daily on the Lagos-East route.

Commenting on the visit of the President, Chukwuma said it would be a great honour to him and the auto industry alike for the Head of State to commission the plant in person in Nnewi. He said on phone: “It is going to be a great honour to me and other manufacturers for the President to show interest in what we are doing.

Manufacturing is not easy in the country, and as because of that, all manufacturers deserve special attention and encouragement. I have said it before and I am telling you again, that it is easier for me to leave manufacturing and go fully into importation, but I know that manufacturing is vital to the economy – jobs are created here and less money goes abroad to sustain the work force in other countries. Moreover, there will be technological development. That is why we are making all these investments against all odds”.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/motoring/2010/aug/27/motoring-08-27-2010-001.htm

Jonathan is singing all the right tunes and making all the right moves. lol.
Good one.

Aba made

http://www.ucheogbuaguonline.com/

Goodnews and a welcome development for INDI-IGBO.Igbo kwenu kwezuonu.

Olabukola, u are a confused Idiot ,ungrateful fellow and i demand ur apology for insulting Ndiigbo and Nigeria in Nigeria. People like u dont see anything good in peoples genuine effort to put smiles on Nigerians faces. Shameless fool. Ride on Innoson and Goodluck

Blud Money!

see jealousy o-Olabukola and teejan

This is a welcoming news.

I'm not in support of olabukola's statement. I think the derision in which we hold things that were locally made is part of the reason why the local manufacturing industry is so lacklustre.
However, i wonder how many of you are going to put your money where your mouth is. How may of you saying 'nice one' will buy a car from his Auto factory?

Fools will never see anything good in other people's effort especially when it dose not come from their kinsmen. Jealousy is a capital sin and it eats you up gradually. Whether you like it or not, whether Aba made or Nnewi made, the man has played his part. Your only job is to sit on a hired notebook and discard others who are far better than you and your remaining miserable life. Olabokula and his likes can go and hang, who cares.

Well done Innoson. I know that this man is not up to 50 years and he is from a humble background, but with a dent of hard work, he is now being remembered and honored. I am proud of your success, and may God continue to bless your efforts and you will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Do nigerians appreciate the products of this man cuz i'm yet to see any ? How durable are they cuz i heard someone screaming Aba made ?

What is the difference btw the so called aba made and goods we import from china its high time we begin to produce things and exporting it  to other countries

I think this is a very good moves. If govt should be supporting these industrialists, Nigeria would have been competing with major countries like Japan, China etc in terms of manufacturing.

Nnewi as a town and the industrialists there should be encouraged because they have a lot of things to offer ranging from numerous job creation, reducing over dependence on foreign manufactured/assembled vehicles/machines.

Kudos to INNOSON and the likes of Coscharis!!!

Kudos to Nnewi and Anambra State(The Japan of Nigeria as the town is fondly called)!!!

Kudos to President GoodLuck and Federal Republic of Nigeria !!!

~Bluetooth:

Do nigerians appreciate the products of this man cuz i'm yet to see any ? How durable are they cuz i heard someone screaming Aba made ?

Since LASTMA agberos lavish all their money on ashawo babes , we can safely deduce that you and babapupa cannot be able to buy any of the cars. . .
Hence, there is no need for you to be asking the above question.

Yoruba:

Since LASTMA agberos lavish all their money on ashawo babes , we can safely deduce that you and babapupa cannot be able to buy any of the cars. . .
Hence, there is no need for you to be asking the above question.

What was that for ?

@Olabukola n Teejan, Timaya say, weda u lyk am, oo oh, weda u no lyk am oo oh, Timaya don do wetin. . . . ??
I'll leave u guys to complete d remainin! So, weda una lyk am or not, innoson don do wetin . . .?? innoson don BLOOOOOOW!!! D best y'all can do is hap your a$$ infront of your borrowed PC's (if at all u guys r not in cafe) n type whatever shyt y'all lyk, n keep hatin on him (innoson) with your deluded n miserable lyf's, he'll be makin his Cheddah in dem duffle bag!

Good thinking at the wrong time. Power is a key factor to any industry not to talk of an automotive one where production gulps up power like ther's no tomorrow. I think the major issue _problem here is power. solve power and Naira would surpass dollar in value.

@Ranosky,why the fuss?

@Offemmanu,thick,fat liped igbo dude,thunder paya u? whats that quote under your post,Yeruba people,walahi na trailer go kpppppppppai u! b-i-A-f-R-A-N goat! haaaaaaaaaa!

Hope we can ride in  those Vehicles with rest of mind  sha, would the vehicles be made in Aba or assembled in Aba?

I wonda why some pple can't appreciate gud things. Whether d products are inferior or not, d fact remains dat only very few can do dat in Nigeria. We've seen ppl in dis country who siphon our funds 2 foreign banks. WHICH 1 IS BETTER? Rm was not built in a day! A child can only learn how to work by crawling. Even China started frm somewhere & persevered. Today dey're d 2nd largest economy in d world. Let us change our mindset pls.

Goodnews and a welcome development for INDI-IGBO.Igbo kwenu kwezuonu.


This is certainly not about iindi-igbo and please dont view it in that manner as it is a great achievement for the nation as awhole and also glading to know that someone why it matters now recongises this individual's effort at puting the country where it deserve to be.
I also sincerely hope that inspite of all this public stunt by the FGN the industry/individual will get all the deserved attention/promises made by the Government

Ephraimi:

I wonda why some pple can't appreciate gud things. Whether d products are inferior or not, d fact remains dat only very few can do dat in Nigeria. We've seen ppl in dis country who siphon our funds 2 foreign banks. WHICH 1 IS BETTER? Rm was not built in a day! A child can only learn how to work by crawling. Even China started frm somewhere & persevered. Today dey're d 2nd largest economy in d world. Let us change our mindset pls.

Typical ibo man,we should appreciate the product even if it's INFERIOR ? We are talking about quality which will make the vehicle exportable and you are here tribalising the issue.american are top buyers of toyota and other japanese simply because they consider the quality of their product.so talk wisely next time

~Bluetooth:

Typical ibo man,we should appreciate the product even if it's INFERIOR ? We are talking about quality which will make the vehicle exportable and you are here tribalising the issue.american are top buyers of toyota and other japanese simply because they consider the quality of their product.so talk wisely next time

You have a choice to go f**ck yourself. You never see anything thing good in anything Igbo. The rest of Nigeria keeps saying stuff like Aba made, igbo and all what not and i ask myself if their tribe makes anything close to what is made in Aba. The problem with us Nigerians is that we don't see anything good in Nigeria that's why we keep bad-mouthing anything from here. We need right thinking leaders to harness the human resource that we have in this country and what GED has done should be commended.

I think its going to be an assembly plant, if that, it means most parts will be imported and the full product will be built in nigeria. the only thing we will need to worry about is quality assurance, taking the fact that we are use to overlooking details, good job.