Ford announced today it will assemble the Ranger pickup in Nigeria starting in the fourth quarter of 2015 as part of its expansion in the Middle East and Africa where the small truck is popular.

The Ranger is built and sold around the world with the notable exception of North America. The last U.S.-built Ranger rolled off the line in St. Paul, Minn., in December 2011. Ford redirects truck buyers to the larger Ford F-150 but a core of customers continue to ask for the return of the smaller pickup.

Elsewhere, the truck is a strong product; global sales increased 40% in 2014. Ford builds the pickup in South Africa, Thailand and Argentina.

Nigeria will be the first African country outside of South Africa to produce Ford vehicles. The Ranger will be assembled in Ikeja, in the Lagos State, about 470 miles from the capital city of Abuja, creating about 180 jobs. An investment figure is not being released.

The Nigerian operation will be a "semi-knockdown" plant that will receive parts and components partially assembled from South Africa and complete the assembly. Ford will send employees to Nigeria to train them in the Ford manufacturing system.

The kit assembly plant has capacity for 5,000 trucks a year, all for the Nigerian market.

Ford is partnering with Coscharis Motors Limited, a Ford dealer group. Cosmas Maduka, president of Coscharis Motors, said "this partnership will boost Nigeria’s much needed march towards industrialization and create an important step in the development of the automotive industry."

For Ford, “assembling Ford Ranger trucks in Africa’s largest economy is an important milestone in our Middle East and Africa growth plan,” said Jim Benintende, president of Ford Middle East & Africa. “With Coscharis we have the right partner and with the Ford Ranger we have the right product to deliver a world-class truck that Nigerian customers want and value.”
The Ranger is the best-selling vehicle in South Africa, and Ford sees Nigeria as a priority market in Sub-Saharan Africa. The truck is sold in 24 African countries and 148 markets worldwide.

"Today’s announcement will allow us to better serve our customers both from a retail point of view, and in terms of vehicle and parts availability,” said Jeff Nemeth, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Sub-Saharan Africa region. “We are committed to supporting Nigeria’s developing automotive industry and economy, he said, noting assembly operations, even on a smaller scale, have positive ripple effects in the local economy and workforce.[b][/b]

No hidden agenda in Nigeria’s IMF Board rep appointment, says Okonjo-Iweala
The minister describes speculations that she has a hidden Igbo agenda as “scurrilous campaign to tarnish” her image.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinator for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is furious over the allegation that she masterminded the appointment of Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, describing the allegation as “falsehood”.

There have been suggestions by critics that the minister single-handedly plotted the selection of Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, to realize a hidden Igbo agenda.

But the Minister, who is currently in Washington for the 2013 annual Spring Meetings of the IMF, described the allegations as mere falsehood that would not stand, pointing out that it was obvious they were coming from the same persons that accused her of appointing Igbos into top positions in the finance sector, though they were already there before her re-appointment.

The Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Paul Nwabuikwu, said the attempt to dent the image of the minister through “creative lies” would fail, because “nothing built on falsehood will endure.”

Mr. Nwabuikwu described insinuations concerning Mr. Nnanna’s appointment as the “desperation of its peddlers to do mischief”, a “scurrilous campaign to tarnish the image of the minister”. He said there are very few public officers in the country with the “pan-Nigerian spirit” as Ms. Okonjo-Iweala.

According to Mr. Nwabuikwu, the two Executive Directors representing Nigeria at the World Bank and the African Development Bank, ADB, namely, Mansur Muhtar, who was a former finance minister, and Alhaji Shehu, were nominated by Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, during Segun Aganga’s tenure in the ministry.

“Dr. Nnannah, a senior staff of the CBN, who retired as an Adviser, a significantly lower position than an Executive Director, was recommended for the position by the Director, International Economic Relations (IER) in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Haruna Mohammed, after going through a competitive process established by the Governors of the African Constituency at the IMF. So, where is the Igbo agenda?

“The bottom line is that Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s reputation as a hard working patriot working for the best of the country is intact and impregnable and no amount of creative lies can dent it,” Mr. Nwabuikwu said.

On Wednesday, speculations were rife that the secret appointment of Joseph Nnannah as Nigeria’s representative on the Executive Board of the Fund in Washington DC was causing ripples in the country as senior officials at the Federal Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, accused the Minister of ignoring laid down procedures, rules and established practices in the nomination and appointment processes.

The Executive Board, consisting 24 Executive Directors appointed or elected by member countries or by groups of countries, is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of the IMF.

Nigeria was requested to nominate a candidate for the new Executive Director position created late last year, to be rotated between it and South Africa as the two largest economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa constituency at the organization.

It was gathered that when the request from the nomination of a candidate got to the Ministry, none of the top officials in the Ministry, including the Permanent Secretary, Danladi Kifasi, and Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, was privy to the information.

The Minister was alleged to have rushed Mr. Nnannah’s curriculum vitae to President Goodluck Jonathan for his approval without considering existing procedures and established practices on such appointments, which is usually rotated between senior Ministry officials and the CBN to provide the platform to improve their career knowledge and skills.

“Nobody knew about the discussions with the President. Even the documentation processes were kept completely secret until Dr. Nnannah resumed at the IMF in Washington. Up till now, no official announcement has been made about the appointment, though Dr. Nnannah resumed at the IMF since January,” a source close to the Ministry of Finance headquarters, who doesn’t want to be named, said on Wednesday in Abuja.

The source, who criticized the nomination and appointment processes as lacking in transparency, said other ministries responsible for sending Nigerians to several United Nations and multilateral organizations have always followed due process, with clear succession plan.

He accused the Minister of promoting a hidden ethnic agenda to assist in building a strong CV for Mr. Nnannah to position him as a credible candidate to succeed CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, when his tenure comes to an end.

This latest controversy follows another ongoing one involving the finance minister and a civil servant, Yushau Shuaib.

Mr. Shuaib, the ex-spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency had written an article alleging that Ms. Okonjo-Iweala was favouring Igbos in finance-related appointments.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Federal Government subsequently moved against Mr. Shuaib by relieving him of his position at the emergency agency and having the information ministry recall him.

http://premiumtimesng.com/business/130528-no-hidden-agenda-in-nigerias-imf-board-rep-appointment-says-okonjo-iweala.html

Does anyone know if a new FIRS Chairman has been appointed? When did the interview take place?