CEOAfrica :: Lagos Motor Fair holds in April

The organisers of the yearly Lagos International Motor Fair and Autoparts Expo Nigeria have announced April date for the 11th edition of the fair.

Managing Director BKG Exhibitions Limited, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, who is also the chairman of the Organising Committee, said the event will hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos between April 28 and May 4.

Agwu at a briefing said, this year’s theme is New approach; New options; New opportunities.

The theme, he said, is informed by the challenges facing the sector in recent times especially, adding: “The challenges notwithstanding, we shifted to new approach of educating the people and government in developing new options and approaches for creating and harnessing new abundant opportunities in the sector though new approaches to achieve better customer relationship and marketing. The emphasis is on keeping the sector alive.

“When government takes off properly and shows policy direction on the sector, it’s going to be for better. The sector is very important as it shows physically the state of the economy and it generates much revenue and creates enormous employment. No serious government toys with it. Auto sector was one of the key sectors that received bailout from the American government during the last global economic meltdown and it helped to revamp the economy. It is a sector that drives the economy; if it is badly affected, other sectors suffers. It is the artery of the economy. Government should parley seriously with the sector stakeholders to seeing how it could be made better.”

Agwu said the Autoparts Expo segment of the event is doing well and “we are looking at involving 23 countries in West and Central Africa in the edition. This we have kick-started by extending invites to players in the autoparts business in those countries to visit the fair. We are aiming at using the Nigerian Autoparts markets as the hub of the sectors business in Africa. The intention is to make them (players from the other countries) to be buying from the Nigerian markets.

The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, Agriculture (NACCIMA) is assisting in inviting them through the Chambers of Commerce of those countries, their missions in Nigeria as well as Nigerian missions in those countries. In no distant future, it will become a big event spreading to other countries in the continent. Nigeria has the resources and capacity to play such a role and it will be a very big disservice to Nigeria and its people if another African country does this ahead of Nigeria.”