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Ministry set to submit auto policy for FEC’s approval—Adebayo
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo says the ministry will soon submit a new auto policy for the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The minister said this when the Senior Executive Course 45 participants of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) visited him on Monday in Abuja.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Ifedayo Sayo, the minister said that the auto policy was reviewed with the aim to increase local production of vehicles.
“Besides, the new policy will help the country to transit from semi knock down to completely knock down/completely built up manufacturing.
“The new policy also has as one of its objectives a plan to increase employment in the automotive value chain,’’ Adebayo said.
According to him, apart from the auto policy, the ministry is also working on a new investment policy and a review of the current trade policy which it intends to conclude before May 29.
Adebayo said that the Federal Government demonstrated determination to turn around the fortunes of the country from dependence on oil to diversification of the economy.
According to him, this is evident through the adoption and implementation of robust policies such as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).
“As part of the process of enhancing and fast-tracking our mandate toward industrialisation in this country, the ministry came up with the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), a 10 year plan to be reviewed after five years.
“The NIRP was approved in 2014 but its implementation started in 2015. The Plan which is now under review is designed to accelerate the build-up of industrial capacity in Nigeria.
“Its aim is to significantly raise manufacturing contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is based on priority sectors, where Nigeria has competitive and comparative advantage.
“These are agriculture and agro-allied industries, metals and solid minerals industries, oil and gas related industries, construction, light manufacturing and services,’’ the minister said.
He said that the ministry under him has recorded appreciable achievements in the implementation of the NIRP.
“Especially in the development and implementation of some sectoral policies such as Backward Integration Programme (BIP) in the Cement industry.
“Others are the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) policy, Leather and Leather products policy as well as the Tomato Industry policy,’’ Adebayo said.
He listed the achievements recorded by the ministry under the BIP to include increased investment in the cement industry, resulting to self-sufficiency in cement production locally with Nigeria being a net exporter of cement.
“Promotion of the sugar value chain has attracted more investors into the sugar industry with the goal of attaining self-sufficiency in sugar production.
“Revitalisation of local auto assembly operations and enhancement of local content in the assembly of components in the Nigerian automotive industry,’’ he said.
He said that the ministry ensured improved competitiveness in all segments of the cotton, textile and garment sector.
According to him, post-harvest losses of tomato fruits have been tremendously reduced.
“This has created increased investment in the value chain and boosted production in the tomato industry.
“More so, there is a promotion and enhancement of investments in the industrial sector by the granting of concessions on importation of machinery and equipment that cannot be fabricated locally,’’ Adebayo said.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and Nigeria Guild of Editors, NGE, have called on Nigerian authorities at all levels of government to stop using repressive and anti-media laws to target, intimidate and harass journalists, critics and media houses.
The groups made the demand after an interactive session on ‘the state of press freedom in Nigeria’ held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja.
In a joint statement, SERAP and NGE said that, “the government of President Bola Tinubu, the country’s 36 governors and FCT minister must now genuinely uphold press freedom, ensure access to information to all Nigerians, obey court judgments, and respect the rule of law”.
They expressed concerns about the escalating crackdown on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by authorities at all levels of government.
The groups note that the suppression of the press in recent times takes various forms ranging from extrajudicial to unlawful detentions, disappearances, malicious prosecutions and wrongful use of both legislation and law enforcement.
The statement read in part: “We would continue to speak truth to power and to hold authorities to account for their constitutional and international obligations including on freedom of expression and media freedom.
“Nigeria as a country has a long and unpleasant history of press gagging and clampdown on media freedom, which is evidence of extensive state censorship of media and in some cases, the utter control of state-owned media houses.
“This position has not changed considerably despite almost 25 years of unbroken democratic rule in the Fourth Republic.”
A Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) to seal off a company, Ifedi A.K. Nigeria Ltd, over allegations bordering on non-filing of annual returns.
The Magistrate, Janada Balami, gave the order after lawyer to FCT-IRS, Michael Towolawi, moved the application to the effect.
Towolawi told the court that the company had failed to file its annual returns from 2019 to 2023 in breach of Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act, LFN, 2004, and amended in 2011.
He said all efforts to make the company comply with the law proved abortive.
The lawyer, therefore, applied that the company be compel to appear before the court to explain why it acted in breach of the law.
Balami, who held that the application by the agency against the company had merit, accordingly granted same to seal the No 6, Rudolph Close, Off Katsina-Ala Street, Maitama, Abuja.
She, consequently, ordered the company, the sole defendant in the matter, to appear before the court on May 16.
The Director, Legal Services of the FCT-IRS, Festus Tsavar, told journalists after the proceeding that the service would move against companies that do not file their annual returns as provided by law.
“You know that we have a new minister in FCT that is doing a lot of projects and that hinges on money.
“And of course, you are aware that FCT has come out of TSA.
“So it is the internally generated revenue that will make the government of FCT to be able to do those projects completely within required time,” he said.
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