Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman Innoson Group of Companies, has declared that his company was into motor manufacturing and not assembling vehicles as some people thought.
According to Chukwuma, my company produces 60 per cent of the vehicles and appeals to Nigerians to buy made in Nigeria motors.
Chukwuma was speaking when members of the Senate Committee on Industry visited Innoson Companies in Nnewi. Anambra State, recently.
He called on the government at all levels to support local manufacturers’ efforts through patronage to grow businesses and the economy of the country.
Chukwuma appealed to government to grant his company zero duty on its imports to enable it produce at a lower cost and employ more hands to boost the economy of Nigeria.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Industry, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, had called on South-East governors to patronise Innoson motors owned by their own brother as part of their efforts to promote local production.
He urged the south-east governors to kick start the patronage of the company’s products due to the huge investment in the production of products needed by the masses and the rich.
Fadahunsi said that the committee had gone round the company’s factories in Lagos, Enugu, and Anambra and found that its products ranged from plastics to automobile and others.
“Innoson has massive investment scattered across the country with over 7,000 workers without zero duty on imported products.
”Mr President will be informed of this, and the Senate will hear of it too for a positive response.
“The company has invested majorly in products that promote the economy of the nation without having duty exemption and still create wealth for the populace,”he said .
Fadahunsi urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Industry to come to the aid of the company, adding that the Bank of Industry would address the injustice.
Fadahunsi, however, tasked the company to drastically reduce its products’ prices once it got the certificate of exemption.
Mr Oluwemimo Osanipin, Director-General of National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), said that the council would table the company’s complaints to the appropriate authorities.
He said that as a regulatory and supervisory body in charge of the automobile industry in the country, every manufacturer would have a fair playground for operations.
According to him, Innoson complained of not being given a fair playground as some people who bring in full manufactured vehicles into the country get zero duty.
“ We have seen that the company buys flat sheets, which comes with duty, and that makes him feel disadvantaged. We will look into this.
“Innoson has the capacity to make 3000 buses, which we do not buy. We have seen that over 7,300 Nigerians are under his employ,” he said.
He said that the company manufactures Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from carcass to finish, so we need to support him to discourage importers of automobiles.
Osanipin said that Innoson was building a third factory that would be one of the largest assembly plants in Africa for electrical and CNG products, and when completed, it would be a new level of investment in automotive industry.
Other members of the committee include the Vice Chairman, Sen. Isa Lau, Sen. Ekong Sampson, Sen. Ipalibo Banigo, among other personalities .
