A concerned stakeholder in the automobile industry in the country has advocated for a ten year incubation period before it can be fully implemented by the Federal Government.

In a statement, the stakeholder, Chairman of Oris Velvet Autos, Chief Alfred Omoghiade, said: "Based on certain fundamentals in the nation's economy, the auto policy ought to have been given at least10 years of incubation before its full implementation. This is to ensure that the right enabling environment is in place and consequently guarantee its success." He noted that with the hurried implementation, we now see undue advantage being given to a few people who are cashing in on the policy to milk the nation dry through unscrupulous practices to make huge money at the expense of the national economy.

The policy which, he said, had failed to yield the expected dividends because the local production of cars and vehicles as key elements of the policy is not being met just as the nation is losing much revenue at the ports.

He therefore called on the Federal Government and its agency, the National Automotive Council, to take urgent steps to review the current policy in the interest of the nation's economy.

Omoghiade recalled that the policy came into effect early July last year with the aim of localizing the manufacturing of vehicles with the assembly plants projected to roll out an aggregate of 300, 000 vehicle units within the next two years and specific 23, 000 vehicle units of various brands of automobiles produced by the plants between June and December 2014.

"The policy, in the thinking of government, would not only help to reduce the pressure on foreign reserves by discouraging importation but also lead to massive job creation and enhance the wellbeing of the economy. Accordingly, with the full implementation of the auto policy, tariffs jumped from 20 percent duty on passenger cars (PC) and 10 per cent on commercial vehicles (CV) to 70 per cent and 35 per cent respectively," he noted.

"The Federal Government should as a necessity wade in and review the policy especially in view of the prevailing economic situation in terms of job losses at the ports and retarded business activities of other stakeholders," he said.

He noted that while the policy was a noble vision, the implementation had been hasty leading to contradictions and no concrete benefits yet to the nation as planned.

Having implemented the auto policy this far, it is becoming increasingly clear that the anticipated objectives are not being realized and it is a well thought out suggestion that the Federal Government and the National Automotive Council should take a second look at it and review it accordingly.

"While we commend the efforts of Innoson in local production, same can't be said of Stallion and others who have imported cars and vehicles of various brands in large quantities prior to the commencement of the policy and benefiting from the same policy with little to show for such substantial incentives in local production.

http://m.allafrica.com/stories/201501200338.html/

Makes perfect, logical sense. Unfortunately we have imperfect, illogical policy makers.
These are the same geniuses who enacted the Nigerian Local Content law, with absolutely no local ship manufacturers in play!

Lets be clear, this is not a "lets slam GEJ" statement. Not even a PDP / APC thing. This is quite simply about Nigerians waking up to the fact that we have elected, and continue to elect, people who know next to nothing about the mechanics of government.