The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Otunba Joseph Osanipin yesterday called for urgent legislation to back Nigeria’s automotive development policy, saying investors are demanding stronger legal guarantees to drive indigenous vehicle production.
He spoke in Abuja during a capacity building programme for the House of Representatives Press Corps.
The workshop organised by the NADDC in collaboration with the House of Committee on Media and Public Affairs, had as its theme: “Strengthening Sectoral Policy Communication and Legislative Reporting on Nigeria’s Automotive Industry Development.”
The DG said while the council is currently implementing the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), transforming the policy into law has become necessary to attract and protect long-term investments in the capital-intensive sector.
According to him, the automotive sector requires billions of dollars to establish a single vehicle manufacturing plant, making policy consistency and legal backing critical for investor confidence.
“We need to move from policy to legislation. And to do that, we need the support and understanding of stakeholders, including the media and the National Assembly,” he added, noting that the council would soon brief lawmakers on the need for a legal framework.
The DG argued that protective measures, including tariff adjustments, are essential to build local capacity, create jobs and encourage technology transfer.
He referenced global trends, citing how the United States in 2024 imposed a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles from China to protect its domestic industry.
He disclosed that NADDC has already recorded milestones in indigenous production, including the design and partial manufacturing of tricycles using indigenous materials, with plans underway for mass production in collaboration with local assemblers.
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The council, he said, had also been at the forefront of promoting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles even before the Federal Government’s recent CNG push, revealing that CNG buses are currently being produced and operated locally without any recorded service failure.
On capacity development, the DG said over 15,000 technicians had been trained nationwide to strengthen after-sales services and ensure sustainability of investments in the sector.
He also used the forum to urge journalists covering legislative and economic issues to situate policy decisions within their broader industrial context, particularly measures designed to protect domestic production.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akintunde Rotimi, underscored the need for specialised knowledge among legislative reporters, saying informed media coverage was essential to translating industrial policy into public understanding and national development outcomes.
Rotimi said the engagement reflects a deliberate strategy by the House to strengthen professionalism within its parliamentary media ecosystem and ensure legislative reporting keeps pace with increasingly complex policy issues.
He conveyed the goodwill of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and members of the 10th Assembly, describing the programme as part of broader institutional reforms aimed at improving policy communication and democratic accountability.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists FCT Council, Grace Ike, called on legislative reporters and media professionals to strengthen policy focused reporting on Nigeria’s automotive industry, saying informed journalism is vital to public understanding, investment attraction and accountability.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Press Corps, Gboyega Onadiran, called for stronger national commitment to local automotive production, warning that Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported vehicles is deepening economic pressure and undermining industrial growth.
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