Why FG Mighty Not Banned the Importation of Vehicles in Nigeria, Even When IVM, Nord Produces More Cars Daily

This issue of car importation has been tweeted many times as some users suggested it should be banned same way some other items have also been banned from importation as many suggested it in favour of Dangote Groups, @K_Sturna tweeted “If Dangote was the owner of Innoson motors, I can bet my life that the Nigerian govt would have banned the importation of foreign cars a long time ago.”, @K_Sturna was replying to a tweet made by @MikaelCBernard who was raised concerned about Why Innoson and Nord weren’t giving licenses to import foreign cars only, on his tweet he said

Innoson and Nord has car plants in Nigeria.

Why hasn’t the Nigerian govt banned importation of foreign cars, to protect local industries? Why don’t we give only Innoson and Nord the license to import foreign cars?

Is it only necessary items like sugar, rice, meat, pms that we ban, and not luxury items like cars?

Innoson and Nord has car plants in Nigeria.

Why hasn’t the Nigerian govt banned importation of foreign cars, to protect local industries? Why don’t we give only Innoson and Nord the license to import foreign cars?

Is it only necessary items like sugar, rice, meat, pms that we…

— Mikael C Bernard (@MikaelCBernard) June 16, 2023

Fact About Automobiles in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there are car plants that are run by Innoson and Nord. These plants help the local auto business grow. But the Nigerian government has not completely stopped people from bringing in cars from other countries. This is because of a number of factors.

First, it’s important to know that the Nigerian government has taken steps to help local businesses, like the automotive industry. The National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) was started in 2013 to get more cars made in the United States and make the country less reliant on cars from other countries. Under this plan, the government made changes like putting higher taxes on cars that were brought in from other countries and starting the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) fee. The goal of these moves was to protect local businesses by making foreign cars more expensive than cars made in the country.

But putting a total ban on cars from other countries is a complicated choice that depends on many things. The Nigerian government needs to find a good mix between the needs of local businesses, what consumers want, what they can pay, and how competitive the market is. If foreign cars couldn’t be brought in at all, consumers might not have as many options and costs might go up because the local industry might not be able to meet all of the demand in terms of range and number.