See How NADDC Board Auto Assembly Tour Exposed Production Gaps, Local-content Opportunities

…..as Council backs deeper investment and technology transfer

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) last week concluded a 3-day oversight tour com of automotive manufacturing assembly plants in Lagos and Anambra states, with its governing board and management team visiting major assembly and vehicle manufacturing plants to identify industry challenges and develop practical policy interventions to strengthen local production.

The inspection tour, which began in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, covered Lanre Shittu Motors, CIG Motors and Mikano Motors before moving to Anambra State, where the delegation visited Kojo Motors and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM).

Led by the Chairman of the NADDC Governing Board, Chief Emma Eneukwu, and the Director-General of the Council, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, the tour provided first-hand insight into production capacity, local sourcing, technology transfer, skills development, investment and the challenges confronting vehicle manufacturers.

At Lanre Shittu Motors, the delegation was briefed on the company’s assembly operations, local sourcing initiatives and expansion plans. The company disclosed that it locally sources materials including steel, lubricants, rubber and vehicle seats, while employing more than 326 Nigerians and maintaining a daily capacity to assemble six trucks and six buses.

The Board also inspected CIG Motors, where attention was drawn to local assembly and the development of indigenous capacity, as well as Mikano Motors, whose operations reflect the industry’s gradual movement towards deeper local assembly and increased value addition.

According to Osanipin, the visits were designed to enable the Council to move beyond policy formulation and understand the realities confronting manufacturers on the factory floor.
He said the experience would help NADDC translate industry realities into stronger advocacy and practical interventions aimed at promoting local manufacturing, developing skills, attracting investment and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported vehicles.

The tour later shifted to the South-East, where the delegation visited Kojo Motors in Umunya and IVM in Nnewi, Anambra State.
At Kojo Motors, the board examined the company’s investment in vehicle assembly, its partnership with global original equipment manufacturers and technology-transfer initiatives, including its collaboration with Yutong and the development of the OMAA brand.

The delegation also visited IVM, where it inspected investments in compressed natural gas (CNG), electric vehicles and other new-energy vehicle technologies.
The visits highlighted the growing role of alternative-energy vehicles in Nigeria’s automotive future, while also underscoring the need for policies that make locally manufactured vehicles more competitive.

Recent reports from the Anambra State leg of the tour indicate that manufacturers raised concerns over the cost of imported raw materials and the impact of duties on locally produced vehicles.

NADDC subsequently indicated that it would take such concerns to the appropriate authorities as part of efforts to improve the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers.
Osanipin said the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy and its directive encouraging Ministries, Departments and Agencies to patronise Nigerian-made products could provide an important boost to demand for locally assembled vehicles.

The NADDC boss said the Council remained committed to using information gathered from manufacturers to shape policies that would deepen local content, encourage technology transfer, develop technical skills and create a stronger automotive value chain.

The inspection, therefore, represents more than a routine tour of assembly plants. It provides the Council with an opportunity to match government policy with the actual conditions facing manufacturers and identify areas where intervention could unlock additional production capacity.

The NADDC leadership expressed appreciation to Chief Eneukwu and members of the governing board for their support, as well as Taiwo Shittu of Lanre Shittu Motors, Brigadier General Chukwu Emeka (Rtd.) of CIG Motors, Syam Abdulkadir of Mikano Motors, Chinedu Oguegbu of Kojo Motors and Chief Innocent Chukwuma of IVM for their cooperation and insights during the exercise.

The tour comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to move its automotive sector beyond vehicle assembly towards a more integrated industrial ecosystem capable of producing components, creating skilled employment, attracting investment and supporting cleaner mobility.

For NADDC, the message from the factory floor is clear: sustained investment, stronger local content, technology transfer and effective government support will be critical to transforming Nigeria’s automotive manufacturing ambitions into industrial reality.

MIKE OCHONMA
mikeochonma@gmail.com