CRSG Harps on Professionalism Within Automobile Sub-sector

 

By Efa Sunday

The Cross River State Government has emphatically stated its resolve to sanitize and ensure professional conduct within the Automobile sub-sector across the eighteen (18) Local Government Areas of the State. 

Speaking during an all encompassing stakeholders meeting that held in Calabar on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Edet Otu on Automobile Technicians Regulatory Department, Chief Ndem Effiong stressed the state government's decision to clean up the State, train and retrain Automobile Technicians and dealers and to also arrest any miscreant seen operating within an unapproved workshops, adding that such illegal environment has constituted harbingers for drug users and criminals. 

A meeting had representation of many key stakeholders including; the representatives of the State Commissioner for Police, ACP Musa Ningi, the representative of the state Director of DSS, Mr. Kingsley Okuda, representative of the State Commandant of NSCDC, the representative of the State Security Adviser to Governor Otu, Mr. Austin Ibu-Wonoh, and a member of the council of climate change, CRS , Mr. Emmanuel Etim. 

Other key stakeholders present at the meeting are State executive members of the Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association (NATA), State representatives of Motor Dealers Association, State representatives of Spare Parts Dealers Association of Nigeria and other important guests. 

In his remark, Chief Ndem harped on the need for operators to restricts their operations within their specialized value chain, adding that going forward the department will commence the issuance of licensing and registration, to help the state have data of her clientele in each sub-sector. 

In his words: " the Governor is interested in cleaning up the State and this include fixing people up where they belong. In this department, we are going to start operating as a value chain and this means that you all will specialize only on the things that you are known for and not to jump from your own area of expertise to other group's specialty. 

"Bedwell in Calabar South is strictly for sales of automobile spare parts and not for repairs of any form of automobile. If you go to bedwell today, everywhere has been so defaced and it leads to traffic congestion. This would stop."

On registration, he continued; " going forward, auto-technicians will have to register with this office to enable the state government have the data base of every stakeholder operating within the Cross River business environment. For us this is important to curtail theft, and erection of unapproved workshops where criminality and drug usage have persisted for so long."

He also stated the state government's resolve to ward off fake products from the market, adding that the department shall be collaborating with Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), and Consumer Protection Agency, explaining that the sales of fake or substandard automobile products have greatly contributed to the number of accidents and deaths recorded within the state in recent times. 

The Automobile Regulatory boss also spoke about the regular conduct of training and capacity building fora for auto-technicians to acquaint themselves with global standard of running their operations. He further called on all stakeholders to belong to a government approved unions in under to help government manage all conflicts and to also reach out to the right groups when sharing dividends of governance. 

Finally, the distinguished Special Adviser outlaid the intention of government to build an auto-tech city, which will serve as a one-stop workshop for every technician within the Calabar metropolis. He therefore called on all to continue supporting the State government even as they envision to prosper the state and make it safer for auto- technicians to operate 

In various remarks, the member of Cross River State Council on Climate Change, Hon. Emmanuel Etim encouraged all technicians to embrace the CNG initiative of the Federal Government, which he says is more environmental friendly environmental friendly. According to him, Nigeria as a country is pushing towards achieving a net zero emission by 2048 where no vehicle will run on petrol and diesel.

On his part, the CEO of Brown Motors, Mr. Austin Brown Iwuanyawu thanked his Excellency the Governor for prioritizing the welfare of Cross River residents, but he stressed on the need for enhanced security system to provide a safer and more reliable environment for business operators.

Chairman of Motor Dealers Associan, CRS Chapter, Alhaji Adamu Baba assures the SA of maximum cooperation of it's members in a bid to ride out bad eggs from amongst them. He also calls for a serious push in member registration, revealing that more that 80% of car dealers within the state are ghost operators. 

On his part, Cross River State Chairman of Car Dealers Association call for collaboration between the state government and his members in putting an end to criminality within bedwell and it's environs, even as he tasked NATA members to properly train their proteges and set up a government approved workshops for them after their freedom, in order to reduce indiscriminate mechanic workshops around the bedwell area and it's environs. 

Speaking on behalf of the Security operative, ACP Ningi lauded the initiative of the state government to reduce criminality fro that light, however, he enjoined the SA to do more publicity of government's intention on the media. 

The event was highly interactive and its highpoint was the reading and signing of the communique agreed by the various stakeholders.