Stakeholders have faulted the approval of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan, saying it is coming too late in the life of the administration.
Besides, the stakeholders are hopeful that the next administration would save the sector from its current state of stagnation. The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved the plan.
The memo for the plan was presented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, during FEC’s meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
This approval came after The Guardian report faulting the administration for its indifference to the full implementation of the automotive policy in the last eight years.
Speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, Deputy Managing Director of CFAO Motors, Kunle Jaiyesimi, raised question about the delay in passing. He said: “I can see the National Assembly setting up a committee that will review ii within days and pass it into a law? The National Assembly has less than 18 days to vacate the office. So, I don’t see them achieving anything with the approval.
“We are look forward to the coming administration to salvage us from this shame that has befall the industry in the guise of automotive policy. If it is able to get it right, the sky would be Nigeria’s limit,” he said.
Also, an automotive analyst, Femi Owoeye, said: “This does not make sense to me. This was a document passed by the National Assembly, awaiting the President’s signature in 2017. It will make sense if it has been signed into law by the President.
“If anything, the reviewed document still has to go through the National Assembly again and be passed, cleaned and transmitted to the President for signature. I do not know what ‘abracadabra’ Adebayo will do to make it happen in the next 19 days. For now, there is no cause for celebration.’
