Federal Govt. Drops Plans To Ban Used 'Tokunbo' Vehicles

The Federal Government has reversed its
plans to ban the importation of fairly
used vehicles also known as Tokunbo, in
line with popular opposition to the policy
since it was announced late last year. The
shift in position was taken at the Federal
Executive Council (FEC) meeting
penultimate week, following intense
debate on the issue with the conclusion
that the planned ban was not in the best
interest of the nation’s economy for now.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and
Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga,
disclosed this in Kaduna on Friday, during
a facility tour of one of the nation’s
automobile assembly plants, Peugeot
Automobile of Nigeria, Kaduna.
According to him, government has since
realised that despite the laudable
intention of the policy, the prevailing
socio-economic circumstances in the
country for now would not be supportive
of it.
Stakeholders in the import sector who
roundly condemned the plans have been
locked in a fierce debate over its
desirability or otherwise with the
automobile manufacturing industry who
saw the policy as long overdue.
But Aganga said despite the new
automotive policy in place, the
government would not ban the
importation of fairly used vehicles
because of its socio-economic importance
to the country.
Rather than banning, the minister noted
that Nigeria must work towards providing
alternative cars. He said the idea to ban
the imports was aimed at revamping the
auto industry adding that a lot more
needed to be put in place before
adopting such policy because of its
apparent backlash.
The minister, who said he was at PAN to
assess how the automobile company was
taking the opportunity of the new
automotive policy of the government, said
though Tokunbovehicles would still be
imported into the country, government
would do everything possible to ensure
that affordable and new vehicles are
produced for Nigerians.
The minister said, “We studied what was
done in Pakistan, India and South Africa.
It is normal that in most countries they
ban the importation of Tokunbo cars
because that will help the demand of the
local manufacturers.
“However, for Nigeria, we discussed and
we said we are not going to ban Tokunbo
vehicles because of the socio-economic
problems we have in the country. We
must work towards providing alternative
cars before we even consider placing a
ban on them.
“So, in Nigeria we have not banned it yet.
If we slow down the demand, it will slow
down the pace of growth. If you look at
the cars today, for every new car that is
imported, almost six Tokunbo vehicles are
imported into the country. That tells you
that the economy of the country is a
priority.
“When you see that, as a country, you
cannot afford to place a ban. The Federal
Executive Council has said we are not
banning Tokunbo vehicles until we have
alternative for them. So, Tokunbo cars will
still be imported into the country and we
will do everything possible to make sure
we can produce affordable and new cars
for Nigerians. It is important that we
provide an environment and the
alternative for Nigerians before we
embark on banning Tokunbo cars.”