As part of events marking the 2014 Democracy Day celebration, President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday received three locally- made models of Nissan vehicles.
Since 1999, May 29 has been designated Democracy Day and a work-free day across the country. The country has enjoyed 15 years of uninterrupted democratic rule.
The presentation of the vehicles was done at the International Conference Centre, venue of the special even marking the Democracy Day, by the Chairman of Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Vaswani.
According to Vaswani, the three vehicles- Nissan Patrol SUV, Nissan Almera and Nissan NP 300 Pick-up were produced at the Stallion Nissan Motors Plant located on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
After inspecting the vehicles, President Jonathan took the driver’s seat of one of them while Vice President Namadi Sambo took the front passenger’s seat.
Vaswani said the vehicles which meet global standards of product and technology were produced in Nigeria in pursuant to the Federal Government’s new Automotive Policy.
He said further that plant was established following the signing of the agreement between Nissan Motor Company and West African conglomerate of the Stallion Group on October 9, 2013.
His words, “We are grateful for implementing this initiative which is part of the Federal Government’s seven point agenda to attract Foreign Direct Investments and emancipate the dormant sectors of the economy.
“The evolution of automotive manufacturing sector in Nigeria would not only encourage more FDIs but stimulate industrial clusters such as original equipment manufacturers that include steel plants, glass manufacturers, aftermarket shops and transportation service providers leading to job creation and contributing significantly to the GDP.
“The current population of Nigeria can convincingly support more than half a million vehicles annually which is more than sufficient to sustain an emerging automotive industry,” he said.
Vaswani disclosed that Stallion’s automobile facility in Lagos was committed to producing 45,000 vehicles annually.
