BY LAWANI MIKAIRU
ONE of Nigeria’s leading indigenous motor manufacturing companies, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited , a subsidiary of Innoson Group, has been granted approval to build an automobile service station in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In addition, the company has offered to further partner with the Federal Capital Territory Administration , FCTA in the area of environmental sanitation.

This is coming as the group, which also owns the biggest plastic company in the West African sub-region, equally presented 300 pieces of assorted plastic waste bins valued at over N10 million to the FCT Administration as part of its own contribution towards proper sanitization of the Abuja environment.

A leader of the Group, Mr. Fred Nwosu, who represented the Chairman/CEO of Innoson Group, Mr. Innocent  Chukwuma,  had told the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed that the waste bins were donated by the Group to the FCTA as its token of appreciation for the good works being done in Minister in the nation’s capital.

Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed announced the decision to allocate an appropriate parcel of land to the Innoson Group to build a service station in Abuja at the weekend during a special presentation by the Group to display its ultra-modern mass transit buses, waste compacting trucks and bins.

The FCT Minister expressed delight that a Nigerian company has developed the know-how to manufacture locally various sizes of motor vehicles including high capacity mass transit buses. He stressed the need for more patronage of the Innoson Group and other indigenous automobile manufacturers as a deliberate way of encouraging Nigerian technological ingenuity and reducing capital flight abroad.

While commending the Innoson Group for being honest by declaring that they engage in vehicle manufacturing only and not road transportation business, he urged them to rethink their stand and diversify into the fast growing FCT transportation sector. He said the company would profit a lot by using the strategic setting of Abuja to showcase their range of automobile products by participating in Abuja’s huge transportation business.

“Abuja is a big centre stage with great national and international attractions and potentials,” the Minister told the team.

Earlier, the leader of the Group, Mr. Fred Nwosu, who stood in for the Chairman/CEO of Innoson Group, Mr. Innocent I. Chukwuma, , had told the Minister that the high capacity mass transit buses being manufactured by the company were fashioned after the London type.

He said the passenger capacity of each of the buses is 99 persons made up      of 45 persons sitting and 55 standing. He added that the company’s local content input in terms of spare parts and components currently stands at 60%.