The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed concern over the deleterious effects importation of used vehicles on the nation’s potential foreign reserves, with used vehicles importation costing the country about $8 billion yearly.

The Vice President, who stated his concern over the huge import bill at the Abuja International Motor Fair on Tuesday, disclosed that the amount is used to import 500,000 used vehicles into the country each year.

Osinbajo, who was represented at the fair by the Director General, National of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, noted the ugly development was not only costing Nigeria money but also vitiating the governments’ job creation drive.

He pointed out further that most of the used vehicles were over 10 years old, unsafe and polluting the environment, saying Nigerians deserve more than what they are getting from the car importation business.

The Vice President said that the trend must be reversed since many companies in the country produce vehicles.

He said: “We should learn from countries like South Africa, India, Asia and other nations that has proven that local Automotive sector can be developed”

Osinbajo restated the federal Government’s commitment to building an automotive industry, noting that the N-Power, which is an initiative that is dedicated to training of Nigerian youths in various skills, could be helpful in realizing the dream

He explained that in 2018 alone, the FG in collaboration with NADDC, trained over 3,200 youths in the mecha-tronics with a view to unlocking powerful capabilities and developing highly skilled Nigerians for the automotive sector.