From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate has passed for second reading a Bill seeking to mandate Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritise locally manufactured automobiles in procurement processes.
The Bill, titled “Local Automotive Industry Patronage Bill 2025” was sponsored by Ndubueze Patrick Chiwuba (Imo North) and read for a second time during plenary, yesterday.
Leading the debate, Ndubueze decried Nigeria’s longstanding overdependence on imported goods, especially automobiles, saying the practice has negatively impacted the naira and undermined local industries.
“We have failed to institutionalise the use of indigenous products, brands, and services in Nigeria and have, instead, glorified foreign goods of no particular superior quality. Today, we see the seesawing of the naira and, with every plunge, inflation bites harder,” he said.
The lawmaker lamented that despite the issuance of 54 automobile manufacturing licences, only six companies remain operational due to forex constraints and inadequate infrastructure. “Several automakers moved to nearby Ghana and are setting up assembly plants there with plans to export the vehicles to Nigeria,” he added.
Ndubueze stressed the urgent need for a sustainable automobile policy that would institutionalise the use of Nigerian-made vehicles, especially in government. “How do we stem the free fall of the naira if we cannot address our appetite for foreign goods?” he asked. “How do we support the development of indigenous brands if the biggest spender, year on year, government, refuses to buy made-in-Nigeria goods?”
He proposed that at least 75% of official vehicles used by public officers and civil servants should be locally manufactured, not merely assembled. “This is the first step to saving our economy, protecting our currency, and creating jobs for our people,” he argued.
Ndubueze said companies that qualify as local manufacturers must meet conditions such as having at least 70% Nigerian workforce, investing 75% of their R&D budget locally, and possessing full-scale technology like robotic painting machines and electrophoresis systems.
He argued that, “government support for local industry should be seen as both strategically important, a long-term investment, and a national security imperative.”
The senator cited examples of countries like China, India, and Malaysia, which initially banned imported cars to grow their local automotive sectors. “Today, these countries have perfected their local processes, and we are now importing their products, some of which cannot compete with our locally manufactured vehicles,” he said.
Supporting the Bill, Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Mongunu, said the proposal would give legislative teeth to the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) earlier directive on prioritising local products. “This law will insulate the directive from the whims and caprices of subsequent administrations who may want to reverse it,” Mongunu stated.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, also endorsed the bill, saying its passage would “provide jobs for automobile engineers in the country and encourage more investors to move into the sector.”
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Public Procurement for further legislative input. The committee is expected to report back in four weeks.
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