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Innoson Group Targets 7,000 Jobs
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian car manufacturing firm, Innoson Group, has entered into a partnership deal with a Chinese consortium to invest about $1 billion in the information and technology sector. The deal is expected to provide about 7,000 jobs for the youths.
A part of the partnership is a $400 million investment in Nigeria’s DSO project Digital Satellite TV Station and an additional $600 million covering other important sectors.
In a statement to newsmen by the spokesman of Innoson Group, Mr Cornel Osigwe, it was disclosed that the multi-billion investment deal will bring about production of Broadcast Digital Set-Top-Boxes.
Mr Osigwe also disclosed that the consortium of Chinese Foreign Investment Group will be received on Monday (tomorrow) by the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo.
He said the consortium would be led by Liu Baoju, a Deputy Minister of Communist Party of China in Shandong Province, who is equally the Chairman of Shandong Broadcasting Group and Shandong Cable Interactive Service Ltd, the world’s biggest TV operators and Huang Gang, Senior Vice President of Inspur Group and President of its Overseas Headquarters.
Mr Osigwe gave the analysis of the investment deal as:
- Financial foreign investment credit facility of $300million USD for local production and supply of a minimum five to eight Million (5-8million) Set-Top Boxes to support the Federal Government of Nigeria Digital Switch Over (DSO) project being handled by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission in order to meet the deadline switch of June 2017.
- Financial foreign investment of $100million USD to establish the latest technology and biggest DTH (Direct-To-Home) Digital BING Television Station across all states of Nigeria.
In addition, the above two immediate investments are being followed by another $600 million USD investment in which negotiations is almost fully concluded with our strategic partners to cover the following areas of Nigerian economy:
- Smart City (CCTV camera) using cloud computing total solution that is known as E-Policing to cover the whole landmass of Nigeria.
- Cloud Computing Total Solution on Taxation with IT applications for such institutions as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other taxation agencies for seamless and stress-free tax collection mechanism.
- E-Education IT Solutions with big data centres for all Federal Universities and Polytechnics in the country
It is also interesting to note that the Nigerian company bringing in and partnering with these foreign investors is the Innoson Group, Nigeria’s first indigenous and largest local manufacturer of automobiles and the largest plastic-processing manufacturer in West Africa.
The company as a trailblazer has decided to be part of history as one of the companies that will take Nigeria into the digital world. In order to keep up with its trend of opening new grounds, it has decided to diversify into Information Technology (IT) and the Multi Media Sector with the plan to launch a Satellite Digital TV operation and other services in partnership with Shandong Broadcasting Group and Shandong Cable Interactive Service Ltd China with technical support from Inspur Group Co Ltd, China.
This foreign investment is coming at a time when Nigeria is in dire need of foreign investors to boost the economy. The focus point of the investment will go a long way to boost the economy of Nigeria with the following as attendant benefits:
- Assist the Federal Government to meet its June 2017 deadline for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting services.
- Establishment of 40 lines of production and manufacturing complex for making Broadcast Digital Set-Top-Boxes, the biggest of its kind in the whole of Africa.
iii. Job creation of over 5,000 jobs in the Innoson Group Set-Top-Box manufacturing complex in Nigeria within the next two years.
- Job creation of about 2,000 jobs by Innoson BING Digital DTH Television operation across Nigeria with the first two years.
- Nigeria will become the manufacturing hub for Set-Top-Box in Africa with the attendant benefit of earning foreign exchange through exports from Innoson Manufacturing Complex.
- Innoson Group would put into use its biggest plastic industry at Enugu by locally manufacturing most of the plastic components of the Set-Top-Box thereby saving cost.
vii. Another important benefit is that BING TV Project will engage the almost under-utilised Nigerian Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) situated at Obasanjo Space Centre in Abuja with its numerous benefits of saving foreign exchange by buying into Nigeria available goods and services, instead of engaging foreign satellite and transponders as all our other competitors here in Nigeria are currently doing.
viii. Providing adequate National security using cloud computing technology to secure our country against insurgency, militancy, kidnapping and all other forms of dangerous crimes.
By Dipo Olowookere
Residents and motorists plying the Aina Obembe Road in Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos, may soon heave a sigh of relief as the excruciating traffic gridlock being experienced in the area both day and night may soon be a thing of the past.
This is because the chairman of Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA, Mr Lukmon Agbaje, has directed those involved in indiscriminate truck parking along the road to remove the heavy-duty vehicles within one week, threatening to invoke appropriate enforcement measures for noncompliance with this directive.
Speaking during a meeting on Wednesday with the management of SENA Company, which owns the affected trucks, as well as the leadership of Oluwadara CDA and other key stakeholders like the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), at the council’s secretariat, Mr Agbaje frowned at the prolonged inconvenience suffered by the community, stressing that public roads must remain accessible and safe for all users.
He emphasised the need for a collaborative approach in resolving the issue without undermining legitimate business operations, noting that he’s focused on finding a lasting solution to the gridlock experienced between Oluwaga and Aina Obembe, where parked trucks have continued to obstruct traffic, disrupt business activities, and pose safety concerns for residents and motorists.
He tasked the firm and the CDA to jointly identify and implement alternative parking arrangements that would remove all trucks from the affected roads and restore the free flow of traffic.
He declared that, “The welfare of our people remains our highest priority. No individual or corporate organisation should obstruct public infrastructure or create avoidable hardship for residents. We must ensure that economic activities coexist with public safety, order, and convenience.”
The council chief reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to promoting orderly development, ensuring safe and accessible roads, improving traffic management, and creating an environment where businesses can thrive alongside the well-being of residents.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has cut import levies on new and used vehicles by as much as 10 per cent in a move aimed at reducing the cost of vehicle importation, even as it commenced the implementation of a new Green Tax surcharge.
According to an update issued by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday, the import levy on new vehicles has been reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, while the levy on used vehicles has been slashed from 15 per cent to five per cent under the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, which took effect on July 1, 2026.
The customs said the policy is designed to ease the cost of vehicle imports while advancing the government’s environmental sustainability objectives through the newly introduced Green Tax.
The implementation also reduces the overall import duty on fully built passenger vehicles from 70 per cent to 40 per cent.
As part of the Green Tax framework, a new environmental surcharge of between two per cent and four per cent will apply to petrol-powered vehicles with engine capacities exceeding 2,000cc. However, mass transit buses, electric vehicles, and passenger cars with engines below 2,000cc are exempt from the surcharge.
Beyond the automobile sector, the fiscal measures also lower import duties on several essential goods. The duty on imported rice has been reduced from 70 per cent to 47.5 per cent, while crude palm oil now attracts a 28.75 per cent duty.
In addition, import duties on agricultural and manufacturing machinery have been completely removed to support local production, while Waste PET has been added to the export prohibition list to encourage domestic recycling.
By Dipo Olowookere
Plans are underway to carry out a comprehensive data capture and registration exercise of all commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators within Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA.
This move, according to the council chairman, Mr Lukmon Agbaje, is part of proactive measures to strengthen the security of lives and property across the Local Council Development Area (LCDA). The exercise, he said, would be executed in partnership with security agencies and transport unions.
On Tuesday, the council chief convened a high-level security meeting with leaders of commercial transport unions and key security stakeholders operating within the area.
Mr Agbaje expressed concern over the increasing influx of commercial motorcycle (Okada) and tricycle (Keke) operators into the LCDA without proper documentation or profiling.
According to him, the absence of reliable records poses significant security challenges and could provide opportunities for criminal elements to infiltrate communities under the guise of commercial transportation.
He stressed that security is best achieved through preventive measures, noting that effective profiling and documentation remain essential tools in safeguarding residents and protecting the council from emerging security threats.
Mr Agbaje disclosed that under the new security framework, all Okada and Keke parks and operational locations across the LCDA would be officially documented, adding that every duly verified operator would receive an official identification jacket bearing a unique coded number to facilitate easy identification and monitoring.
He also said a mandatory guarantor system will be introduced to strengthen accountability, ensuring that every registered rider has a verifiable guarantor who can be contacted whenever necessary.
The chairman noted that these measures are designed not only to improve security coordination but also to protect law-abiding commercial operators and discourage criminal activities within the council.
Leaders of the various transport unions welcomed the initiative, noting that proper documentation will distinguish genuine operators from criminal elements, enhance public confidence, and promote a safer working environment for commercial transporters.
Also, the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Ayobo and Ipaja Commands commended the initiative, describing it as a timely and commendable step towards strengthening community policing. They reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to working closely with the council to ensure full compliance and sustain peace and public order.
