ATCs marks significant milestone of Tinubu regime, says NADDC DG

The director-general of the National Automotive Design & Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Oluwemimo Osanipin, has declared that, the ongoing setting up of 21 Automotive Training Centers (ATCs) across the country is one of the numerous significant milestones of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

Osanipin stated this this week Monday during the commissioning of the newly built and fully equipped Automotive Training Center at the Lagos State University of Science & Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu.

According to the NADDC DG, “Today marks another milestone in our efforts towards building/strengthening of capacities in the auto sector in Nigeria. This is with a view to enhancing skills acquisition thereby ensuring wealth creation and poverty reduction in the country”.

The National Automotive Design & Development Council is statutorily charged with the responsibility of ensuring sustainable development of the automotive industry in Nigeria using local human and material resources.

To achieve this mandate, the Council has been promoting auto-engineering training, skills acquisition and capacity building in the auto industry in Nigeria.

Joseph Osanipin disclosed that in line with NADDC’s mandate to promote skills development in the auto industry, Council is constructing twenty-one (21) training centres that covers the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

These automotive training centers are to be located in Kogi, Bauchi, Enugu, Osun, Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, Lagos, Jigawa, Akwa-Ibom, Plateau, Kano, Kastina, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Niger, Abia, Ogun, Sokoto, Cross River, and Ekiti States.

The NADDC boss said, “We are here today to commission NADDC Automotive Training Centre, Ikorodu which has received its state-of-the-art training equipment/tools and has been installed. It is noteworthy to state that the significance of this training centre is one of the success stories of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR”.

“The project will not only provide job opportunities for the youths but enhance skills among graduates / undergraduates and provides needed industrial infrastructure in the state”. He stated.

Recall that, the federal government recently approved the new Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) 2023 to aggressively build on the successes achieved so far in the Nigerian Automotive industry.

The new NAIDP would strategically provide outstandingly competitive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that automotive industry manufacturers /producers, assemblers, investors, developers and all relevant stakeholders need.

The plan would also guarantee the generation of jobs; enforce patronage of locally produced vehicles by federal, state and local governments.

This centre is a testament to our commitment to developing the Nigerian automotive industry and we are proud to have it as part of our concrete efforts towards the implementation of the NAIDP. Our vision is to position Nigeria as one of the leading automotive manufacturing nations in the world and we are irrevocably committed to achieving it.

The Automotive Training Centre will provide training and skills development programs for automotive artisans, technicians, and engineers. This will enhance their capabilities, improve the quality of services, and increase the local content of assembled vehicles in Nigeria.

The DG reiterated NADDC commitment to supporting research and development, industrial infrastructure and local automotive components development.

“Our goal is to create an enabling environment for the manufacture of Nigerian-made vehicles of international standards. We shall continue t o work with all stakeholders to achieve this”.

He expressed appreciation to Minister of State for Industry and the entire management of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for the invaluable guidance and support to the NADDC over the years.

MIKE OCHONMA
EDITOR