Hope rises as automotive industry bill advances through NADDC, stakeholders

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has commenced moves to finalise the proposed National Automotive Industry Bill, 2026, assuring stakeholders that the clean copy of the document will be ready soon.

The council gave the assurance at the weekend, at a stakeholders’ engagement on the bill in Lagos, where automotive manufacturers, assemblers, component suppliers, industry associations and other stakeholders reviewed the proposed legislation.

As part of NADDC’s efforts to strengthen the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for sustainable growth of the sector, the stakeholder engagement was put together for major players across the automotive value chain to review the proposed legislation and make recommendations ahead of its submission to the National Assembly.

Speaking at the event, Director-General of NADDC, Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said the engagement reflected a shared commitment to developing a legal framework capable of transforming the automotive ecosystem into a self-sustaining and globally competitive industrial value chain.

Addressing the stakeholders, Osanipin said: “When this management team assumed leadership at the NADDC, our vision was clear: to move Nigeria’s automotive ecosystem from mere assembly potentials into a robust industrial value chain anchored on local content, component manufacturing, vehicle electrification, and regional market integration.”

“However, achieving this ambition requires an unyielding foundation. Policy inconsistency, legislative gaps, and outdated legal frameworks have historically created uncertainty for investors.

The National Automotive Design and Development Council Act of 2014 laid important groundwork, but the dynamics of global manufacturing, green mobility transitions, and regional trade…