Patronize Innoson Vehicles, PDP Chieftain Appeal To FG, State, Others
A Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has appealed to the Federal, State governments, corporate organizations and individuals to patronize Innoson home made vehicles.
He made the appeal Friday when he visited the premises of Innoson vehicles manufacturing company located at Nnewi, Anambra state.
Onuesoke, a fomer governorship aspirant under the platform of PDP in 2007 disclosed that patronizing the company’s products would serve as catalyst for the growth of all other sectors in the country aside its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
According to him, “We as citizens, our governments, both state and federal owe it to Innoson Motors for support and patronage. Besides, the more the company grows, the more the country will benefit in the forms of employment opportunities, research and development, and the incalculable economics benefits of balance of trade".
He explained that for the fact that purchasing power of Nigerians has falen, he argued that Innoson has the key to making Nigerians wanting to buy, stressing that Innoson vehicles could achieve the result, saying that Tesla got in Norway through government subsidizing of Tesla cars for Norwegians thereby making Tesla almost a national car.
“It will reduce foreign exchange spent on importation of vehicles,” he disclosed.
Onuesoke who pointed out that Nigerians should be proud of such local company as Innoson located on its shore, explained that if only government could boldly and confidently use made-in-Nigeria cars, then the nation would be on its way to having a better economy because every other persons that could afford it would follow suit.
He said although government and companies are purchasing their buses, dump trucks and other utilitarian vehicles as well as ambulances, but he felt the quantum of purchases could not be compared to imports of between 200,000 and 500,000 vehicles annually.
“To hear that the company is laying-off employees at a season Nigeria needs jobs is heartbreaking. Innoson is a goldmine waiting to be mined. If all things fail, even if the owner is the worst Nigerian, Our government should be buying shares and offering loans to the company. Innoson is strategically a treasure for Nigeria. Even offering expansion loans to diversify its production is in the best interest of Nigeria.
“We are traveling across the world to find investors, when we have an institution we can invest in. That is very cost effective. The government can even assist the industry to find more foreign markets across the globe and help it transport its automobile and other machines it can manufacture there. It's a foreign exchange earner of great magnitude, almost like oil,” he stated.