ANAMMCO urges government to review 2020 finance Act

The Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company Limited (ANAMMCO) has appealed to the federal government to urgently review the 2020 Finance Act and the Automotive Policy in the country.
The Executive Director of ANAMMCO, Mr Uche Okeke, made this appeal In Enugu on Thursday when the Board Members of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) visited the company.
Okeke said the review had become important considering challenges faced by vehicle manufacturing companies in Nigeria, which if not addressed, would put the remaining car manufacturing industries out of business.
He blamed the federal government for deliberately crippling automotive industry through policy somersaulting, which does not encourage both local and foreign investors to invest in the industry.
According to him, with the government support industry alone was capable of providing job opportunities for the terming youths.
He hinted that ANAMMCO had the capacity to employ two thousand persons as well as produce cars that can compete with vehicles produced elsewhere.
The Executive Director maintained that it was cheaper to produce locally than importing, and asked the federal government to reconsider the 20 per cent excise duty on raw materials imported into the county.
On the operation of the ANAMMCO, Okeke informed the Board members that the company aside assembling vehicles also had a training institute where people were trained on vehicle maintenance.
He, however, commended the NADDC for always coming to their rescue to ensure that ANAMMCO does not shutdown its operations, especially whenever the company faces downturn.
Responding, the Board Chairman of NADDC, Senator Osita Izunaso, pledges that the Council would look into the issues raised by the Executive Director of ANAMMCO with a view of finding lasting solutions to them.
Izunaso admitted that many vehicle manufacturing companies in the country witnessed downturn due to policy somersaulting, added that the board was working with private sectors to turn the fortunes of automotive industry around.
The NADDC chairman pointed out that the facility tour of the company had given them more insights to go about with the review of the 2020 Finance Acts and Automotive policy to suit the reality on ground.
He then encouraged the management of ANAMMCO not to be dismayed by the current challenges, remaining them that they had potential as well as available to become a giant vehicle manufacturing company in Nigeria.