The Federal Government said it has no intention
to ban the importation of fairly used vehicles, also known as tokunbo,
into the country.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, stated this on Friday during a facility tour of one of the nation’s automobile assembly plants, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, Kaduna.
Aganga said despite the new Automobile Policy now in place, the government would not ban the importation of fairly used vehicles because of the socio-economic importance to the country.
Rather than banning the used imported cars, the minister noted that Nigeria must work towards providing alternative cars.
He said it was normal to place a ban on importation of tokunboh while revamping the auto-industry, noting that at one of the Federal Executive Council meetings, it was decided that there should be no ban on tokunboh cars.
The minister, who said he was at PAN to assess how the automobile company was taking the opportunity of the new automobile policy of the government, said though tokunboh vehicles would still be imported into the country, the government would do everything possible to ensure that affordable and new cars were produced for Nigerians.
The Minster said, “We study what was done in Pakistan, India, and in South Africa. It is normal that in most countries they ban the importation of tokunboh cars because that will help the demand of the local manufacturers.
“However, for Nigeria, we discussed and we said we are not going to ban tokunboh vehicles because of the socio-economic circumstances we have in the country. We must work towards providing alternative cars before we even consider placing a ban on tokunboh cars.
“So, in Nigeria, we have not banned it yet. If we slow down the demand, it will slow down the pace of growth. If you look at the cars today, for every one new car that is imported, almost six tokunboh are imported into the country. That tells you that the economy of the country is a priority.
“When you see that, as a country you cannot afford to place a ban. The federal executive council has said we are not banning tokunboh vehicles until we have alternative for it. So, tokunboh cars will still come into the country and we will do everything possible to make sure that we can produce affordable and new cars for Nigerians.”
Source: Punch
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, stated this on Friday during a facility tour of one of the nation’s automobile assembly plants, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, Kaduna.
Aganga said despite the new Automobile Policy now in place, the government would not ban the importation of fairly used vehicles because of the socio-economic importance to the country.
Rather than banning the used imported cars, the minister noted that Nigeria must work towards providing alternative cars.
He said it was normal to place a ban on importation of tokunboh while revamping the auto-industry, noting that at one of the Federal Executive Council meetings, it was decided that there should be no ban on tokunboh cars.
The minister, who said he was at PAN to assess how the automobile company was taking the opportunity of the new automobile policy of the government, said though tokunboh vehicles would still be imported into the country, the government would do everything possible to ensure that affordable and new cars were produced for Nigerians.
The Minster said, “We study what was done in Pakistan, India, and in South Africa. It is normal that in most countries they ban the importation of tokunboh cars because that will help the demand of the local manufacturers.
“However, for Nigeria, we discussed and we said we are not going to ban tokunboh vehicles because of the socio-economic circumstances we have in the country. We must work towards providing alternative cars before we even consider placing a ban on tokunboh cars.
“So, in Nigeria, we have not banned it yet. If we slow down the demand, it will slow down the pace of growth. If you look at the cars today, for every one new car that is imported, almost six tokunboh are imported into the country. That tells you that the economy of the country is a priority.
“When you see that, as a country you cannot afford to place a ban. The federal executive council has said we are not banning tokunboh vehicles until we have alternative for it. So, tokunboh cars will still come into the country and we will do everything possible to make sure that we can produce affordable and new cars for Nigerians.”
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment