The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has called for a stronger legal framework to accelerate Nigeria’s automotive industry development.

The Director-General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, made the call at a public sector stakeholder consultative meeting on the Draft National Automotive Industry Bill 2026 in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr Osanipin said the proposed legislation would address policy uncertainty, enforcement bottlenecks and legislative gaps hindering long-term investments in the sector.

He said the bill sought to repeal the NADDC Act of 2014 and establish the National Automotive Development Commission.

According to him, the proposed commission will have stronger regulatory, oversight and enforcement powers to improve coordination across the automotive industry.

Mr Osanipin said the legislation would also strengthen local content integration, component manufacturing, green mobility and vehicle recycling.

“The proposed framework will provide investors with confidence through statutory protection of incentives and policy stability.

“The first one is that we give confidence and comfort to investors to invest heavily in the automotive industry,” he said.

He added that increased investment would promote industrial growth, technology transfer, employment generation and foreign exchange conservation.

The NADDC boss said developing local component manufacturing was critical to building a sustainable automotive industry.

He added that the proposed legislation would support the development of an organised domestic market for used vehicles through automotive recycling.

Mr Osanipin said more than 70 per cent of automobile components could be recycled, making the circular economy an important part of the proposed reforms.

On consumer benefits, he said increased local production would encourage competition in vehicle prices, quality and after-sales services.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Enitan Badru, urged stakeholders to ensure that the proposed legislation addressed institutional overlaps and enforcement challenges.

Mr Badru said the transition from a “council” to a “commission” was important because the existing law did not provide sufficient authority for effective enforcement.

He said Nigeria could not afford to remain a dumping ground for imported vehicles and automotive products.

He stated,“We have a good market. A population of close to 200 million is a good market anywhere.”

The lawmaker stressed the need to ensure that local content requirements were practical, competitive and supported by adequate domestic capacity.

He cautioned against imposing requirements that could make locally sourced components more expensive or inferior to imported alternatives.

Mr Badru also called for clear coordination among the proposed commission, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Customs, NASENI, and other relevant agencies.

He said the draft bill should reach the National Assembly by the end of November or early December to allow sufficient time for legislative consideration.

The lawmaker assured stakeholders that the House of Representatives would work towards accelerating the legislative process while ensuring thorough scrutiny.

Stakeholders at the event commended the NADDC director-general for his vision and efforts in accelerating Nigeria’s automotive sector and pledged their unreserved commitment and support towards the goal.

(NAN)