PAN dealers knock FG for patronising foreign-made vehicles

Dealers of the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria vehicles on Tuesday accused the Federal Government of crippling the auto plant.

The auto dealers said rather than purchasing cars from PAN, the government buy imported vehicles to the detriment of the company established in 1972 by the General Yakubu Gowon administration.

Chairman of the Peugeot  Dealers Association, Chief Onyebuchi Nnamani, at the commencement of the Peugeot 301 assembled by the PAN  at its Kakuri plant in Kaduna on Tuesday, noted that the refusal of the Federal Government and its agencies to patronise the company had crippled the firm.

Nnamani, who stunned the representative of the Vice President Namadi Sambo and Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, and former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon at the event, said the Federal Government was to blame for its preference for foreign vehicles to the detriment of the locally-assembled vehicles.

The Chairman, who speech attracted loud ovation on the occasion, said, “We are looking at the situation whereby a serving minister will threaten to resign from office if the Federal Government insists on importing official vehicles. Mr. Aganga can you do it, can you resign if it happens?”

The Federal Government, on the other hand, accused state governors of patronising imported vehicles instead of locally-produced ones, pointing out that without the governors creating a conducive environment for business to thrive, the economy would not grow.

The Vice President noted that governors must patronise the automobile industry to enhance the growth of the economy.

Sambo said, “Without having a  governor, who is creating the enabling environment for business to thrive, some of these things will not work without constant electricity generation. I know that in Kaduna State, power generation will soon be stable. Some of these things will happen if only governors ensure construction of roads and work very closely with the Federal Government.

 “None of these will happen without a governor that is committed to patronising PAN products locally. We will do everything to support locally-produced vehicles because the producers are supporting us and all Nigerians. So we must commend them and do everything we can do to support them.

 “Let me make it clear that we must produce what we consume; we must consume what we produce as a nation. There is no memo that comes to council these days under the chairmanship of the President for any acquisition of cars anywhere; they must have to be bought locally.”