The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr Omar Alieu Touray, has reaffirmed the regional organisation’s commitment to promoting industrialisation through the development of a competitive and integrated automotive industry.
Dr Touray made these remarks in Abuja, Nigeria, during a courtesy visit by the Executive Chairman of the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group, Dr Innocent Chukwuma, on the occasion of the regional forum on the development of the automotive industry.
This forum, organised by the ECOWAS Commission’s Private Sector and Industry Directorate, aims to accelerate the implementation of the ECOWAS regional automotive industrial policy framework.
“Policymakers, automakers, customs authorities, financial institutions, development partners, and private-sector stakeholders are participating in this meeting, which is designed to propose concrete measures to strengthen regional automotive value chains, attract investment, and promote sustainable industrial development within the ECOWAS region”.
Dr Touray took the opportunity during this visit to express his gratitude to Dr Innocent I. Chukwuma for his Group’s partnership and support in organising this forum.
In his view, this collaboration between the ECOWAS Commission and the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group reflects the important role of the private sector in promoting the industrialisation agenda of the West African region.
“As Africans, we must promote our own industrial products, and to do so, we must know them well. We must realise that no one else will come to build or develop Africa in place of Africans. A partnership with the ECOWAS Commission will enable the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group to raise its profile in West Africa,” Dr Touray added.
The Executive Chairman of the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group, Dr Chukwuma, expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality he received from his host.
He said he was pleased with his Group’s partnership with the regional organisation, which he believes will be beneficial to both parties.
He also informed the President of the ECOWAS Commission of the upcoming partnership between his Group and Senegal regarding the development and local manufacturing of automotive components, materials, and equipment, as well as technology transfer.
Despite certain challenges he faces at the national level in expanding his company’s reach, Dr Chukwuma expressed his conviction that only West Africans can develop their region.
“No one will come to build West Africa for us. Therefore, we must do things on our own,” He re-emphasised.
It should be noted that during this visit, the CEO of the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group, Dr Innocent I. Chukwuma, was accompanied by two executives from his company.
Dr Omar Alieu Touray was accompanied by the ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dr Kalilou Sylla, as well as Peter Oluonye and Liberor Doscof Aho, who serve as Acting Director of the Private Sector and Industry and Communications Officer for the Commission, respectively.
It is important to note that the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Nnewi, Nigeria.
It is Nigeria’s first local automobile manufacturer. It assembles and manufactures a range of passenger vehicles, buses, trucks, and specialised vehicles for both the public and private sectors. It is one of West Africa’s leading local automobile manufacturers.
The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Group is an excellent example of entrepreneurship and industrial development that can contribute to the implementation of ECOWAS’s regional automotive industrial policy framework through increased regional production, the development of the supplier base, and participation in regional automotive value chains.
