BPE Boss Calls for Law to Protect Auto Industry

Christopher Anyanwu, director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), has called for appropriate legislation to protect the automobile industry in Nigeria.
He made the remarks through Samuel John Agbogun , the agency's director of Post-Privatisation Monitoring (PPM), , when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation visited Steyr Nigeria Limited, Bauchi in discharge of their oversight duties.
Anyanwu noted that the lack of necessary legal framework to protect the industry is grossly impeding its growth and performance.
He pointed out that with  appropriate legislation, the industry can perform optimally, creating job opportunities for the country's teeming population and bringing in foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria.
The BPE boss decried the influx of finished automobile products from foreign countries into Nigeria, recalling that on June 9, 1994, the Federal Government as part of efforts to check the low patronage of products of the local automobile assembly plants, passed circular No SDPS/P/82/1/11.
Specifically, the circular stated that "all federal and state ministries, the local government and their agencies procure all their vehicles from the brands made by the local assembly plants" except when there was the need to supplement the shortfall in the output of the local assembly plants.
The penalties for flouting the provisions of the circular include forfeiture of budgetary allocation for purchase of vehicles by the affected ministries and government agencies for the year and  procurement of motor vehicles for the affected agencies by the federal government through the National Automobile Council.
Subsequent flouting of the order attracted supervised procurement by the federal government for three years while officers responsible may be subjected to litigation and if found guilty could be liable to a  prison term of two years or a fine of N1m.
The Managing Director of Steyr, Saidu Ahmed, while briefing the  committee members on the activities of his company, also called for a legislation to protect the industry. He also asked for a tax holiday for privatised firms to cushion the high cost of turning around the companies.
Ahmed said his management inherited a tax overhang of N140million and appealed to the committee for a tax waiver of five years.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Ahmed Njjidah Gella, tasked BPE to immediately initiate a meeting between the Federal Ministries of Finance, Commerce and Industry as well as other relevant stakeholders in order to address the challenge.
The committee which is on tour of the North- east zone to visit  privatised enterprises in the area, had earlier visited Savannah Sugar Company, Numan, Adamawa State and Ashaka Cement Company, Gombe.