MD, PAN, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi

Car built by UNIBEN students passes technical evaluation in Holland

Crusoe Osagie   and Yemi Akinsuyi
Managing Director and Chief Executive of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi, yesterday in Abuja stated that the company would resume operations in the country next month.

Boyi dropped the hint when he led the management team of the company, including the Vice President of Automobile Peugeot of France (AP France), Mr. Yves Moulin, on a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, in his office.

According to him, restarting the company’s production plant was made possible by the new automobile development policy of the federal government and tremendous support received from the AP France.

He said: “We have concluded plans to restart our production plant by June this year. The plant has been assessed and certified. We have positioned ourselves very well for the resumption of production.

“PAN has been in existence for over 40 years with quality products, better services and customer satisfaction, which is still functioning till date. The company also helps in the training and development of human skills at its training school in Kaduna.”

Boyi, who commended the federal government for its support for the will be back company, assured Nigerians that “vehicles meant for Nigerian roads with back axles, the people will enjoy what we are going to be rolling out as from June.”

In his remarks, Moulin noted that the government’s new automotive policy and infrastructural facilities, especially roads development, would aid the expansion of the company’s plants.

“There is huge potential in Nigeria being the number one economy in Africa. The country is blessed with highly skilled and educated personnel.
“If the economy is stable and the environment is conducive, we will be able to create jobs and automotive clusters,” he added.

The AP France boss however, stressed the need for Nigerians to always patronise new cars from the company, for safety and best security, adding that: “Our cars have the high and sophisticated engines that will not pollute the air and environment.”

Responding, the minister said the new National Automotive Policy (NAP) endorsed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was part of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan meant to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles and enforce a gradual phasing out of imported used vehicles in the country.

Ortom, who assured them of policy sustainability, noted with delight that: “PAN remains the only functional automotive company synonymous with mobility in Nigeria.”

He added that the National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) launched by President Jonathan was the most ambitious and comprehensive road map that would transform the nation’s industrial landscape, boost skills development, enhance job creation and conserve foreign exchange.

The minister also informed them that NIRP would address all the major physical constraints towards industrialisation, improve the nation’s investment climate and promote the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products.


To achieve this, he said the president just inaugurated an advisory committee on the industrial and automotive policy, assuring PAN of the federal government’s support to enable them flourish in the country.

Meanwhile, good news came from Rotterdam, Netherlands, yesterday as Tuke-Tuke, a car produced by students of the University of Benin, Edo State, passed the international technical evaluation.

The Media Manager at Shell Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, said in a statement that the car is now qualified to race at the 2014 Eco-marathon with cars from 25 countries, mostly advanced countries.

The marathon which started yesterday with an opening ceremony would have the selected cars race for the winning prize on Saturday.

He said another car built by students from the University of Lagos was still undergoing thorough technical evaluation and its own results was expected to  be announced yesterday. He was optimistic that the UNILAG car would also do well.

He said: "Shell Eco-marathon challenges student teams from around the world to design, build and test ultra energy-efficient vehicles. The winners are the teams that go the farthest using the least amount of energy.”

The event, according to organisers, sparked debate about the future of mobility and inspired young engineers to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency. “All cars are expected to pass a strict technical inspection to check they are fit for purpose and safe before they are allowed to race.

"Two Nigerian universities are participating in the 2014 edition of Shell Eco-marathon Europe, the first teams from sub-Saharan Africa to enter the global event. The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Limited operated Joint Venture is sponsoring University of Lagos and University of Benin to the event which would hold in Rotterdam on May 15 to 18.


"Last year, students from the Ahmadu Bello University, University of Lagos and University of Benin attended Shell Eco-marathon Europe as observers of the 2013 edition on SPDC JV sponsorship. Since then, the students from Lagos and Benin have successfully built cars that have been sent to Rotterdam this week, in line with the main objective of Shell Eco-marathon to challenge students from around the world to design, build and race fuel-efficient vehicles. The judges will be looking to reward the cars that drive farthest with the least amount of fuel," Okolobo said.

Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Ben Van Beurden, praised the Nigerian students for the innovation, saying: "We have been doing this for over 30 years. It started in France and has gone all around the world. It is fantastic to see the scale that we have now.

“The energy, the enthusiasm and the innovation that has taken place, and the fact that we have a Nigerian team here participating is an incredibly milestone.

"In my mind, Africa is the continent of the future. It has so much potential: human potential, resource potential. It has so much dynamism; it has so much growth today that I think this actually is going to be a very important milestone going forward. It is wonderful to have the Nigerian team here."

Team Leader of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mrs. Kolapo Jolayemi, said the corporation was proud to have co-sponsored the students, seeing the level of innovation they had exhibited.

According to her, "I feel so happy to be here and to be part of the problem. This is the first time that Nigeria is coming for the competition, and we have passed the technical evaluation. I feel great and proud to be a Nigerian, and I am even impressed by the courage and efforts put out by Nigeria.

Prof Akii Ibhadode who supervised the UNIBEN team said: "I am excited. It is great. This is the first time we are coming for this competition and we were able to pass the technical inspection.
“Many teams do come. But this is the first time that we are participating and we didn't know that we would come this far with the 10 technical tests. I want to thank the Lord for what he has done, and the spirit that Nigerians have. The dogged spirit of Nigerians helped us to pass the technical evaluation for us to run.

"Somehow, we were fast tracked to come and compete in Europe 2014. We had very little time to do the second version. We had to settle for this first version. It gave us so many problems. But thank God we were able to overcome the problems, especially concerning weight. We hope to do much better in 2015.  The finishing would be great."

The team leader of the UNIBEN students, Adekoya Adeyemi, was short of words on receiving the evaluation certificate from the international assessors.


He said: "I give glory to God. I remember the very day we passed the weight test; we saw it as a miracle. When we came for the breaks, we were told we failed and we had to go and rework certain aspects. We had to go back and reworked them. At the shortest of time, we were able to sort out all the technicalities identified.

“God has been wonderful. Certain things happen that are beyond human wisdom. When we got here, we got scared because of the intensive scrutiny."


Source: ThisDay