Nigeria: Producing What she Consumes and Consuming What she Produces-The Innoson Example
The minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed has commended Innoson Motors manufacturing plant in Nnewi, Anambra state, South East Nigeria for its contributions to growth and development of the Nigerian economy with its production of cars and other machinery in Nigeria.
According to the minister “True to its name, Innoson is a manufacturing company, not an assembly plant. It is exactly what the brains behind the National Automotive Industry Development Plan have in mind when they rolled out that policy, which is to curtail dependence on imports and ensure the growth of the Nigerian automotive industry, using local resources.
“Innoson is living up to what the policy aims to achieve: Creation of jobs, conservation of foreign exchange and acceleration of technical development,” he said.
The Federal government, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Culture, rolled out the National Media Launch of the Made-in-Nigeria Campaign.
According to the minister, ”the campaign is to let Nigerians know that the Federal Government is not just paying lip service to this whole issue of Made-in-Nigeria. I have no doubt in my mind that Innoson, will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, beneficiaries of this campaign, which we also intend to launch in other parts of the country soon.”
He also affirmed that the Federal government’s commitment to diversifying the economy is unwavering and also urged other tiers of government to key into the new executive order of Ease of Doing Business Initiative recently signed by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
A key provision of which is that all ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall grant preferences to local manufacturers of goods and service providers in their procurement of goods and services.
Specifically, it says Made-in-Nigeria products shall be given preferences in the procurement of items including furniture and fittings, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, ICT, uniforms and footwear, food and beverages and Innoson motor vehicles.
Innosson Motors have fuel efficiency advantage; warranty; no overheating; auto-financing guaranteed and environment-friendly. “I have no doubt that this company will live up to the billing. Its record, within just a decade, confirms this: over 10,000 vehicles manufactured, over 7,000 human resources, and markets covering over 25 African countries.
“Just as this company pioneered the manufacture of Made-in-Nigeria motorcycle and helped to end the dominance of Tokunbo motorcycles, we have no doubt that it will also help us to drive tokunbo vehicles away from Nigeria.
