The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo has disclosed that the new Automotive Industry Bill will help position Nigeria in its rightful position, as the manufacturing hub of Africa.

According to him, the whole idea of the New Automotive Policy will be centered on creating an enabling environment for key players in the industry, as the policy seeks to gain the confidence of investors in the industry, especially the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), with the view to have them come in to set up manufacturing plants in Nigeria.

In this space, the country will be able to leverage on the buffers coming from the recently ratified African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an agreement that has a total market of 1.2 billion people, while 200 million of the 1.2billion people are here in Nigeria.

The Minister revealed that to make this happen, the government is set to put in place a policy that guarantees the investments of manufacturers and other key players in Nigeria.

In a bid to ensure that key infrastructure and materials required for production are in place, the minister revealed that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been engaging key stakeholders to ensure that Ajaokuta is up and running

Source Nairametrics