Recently on March 17, the Governor of Anambra State, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, brandished Innoson vehicles during his inauguration. He was the first Nigerian governor to adopt an indigenous car brand to be used in the official fleet of any state in the country.
But, according to the Chairman of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing (IVM), Chief Innocent Chukwuma, who spoke through the Company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Cornel Osigwe, “Soludo is the first governor to endorse Innoson as the state official vehicles, but Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has already been using Innoson vehicles.”
Soludo began the campaign for local brand patronage right from the early days of his campaign on the road to take over the number one job of Anambra State, culminating in his formal endorsement of Innoson Motors and the Akwete fabrics for personal and official purchase and use.
In a reaction to Governor Soludo’s official conduct, the company said in a statement that it was impressed with the Governor’s sincerity in keeping to his promise. The statement, which was signed by Osigwe further noted that the endorsement showed the durability and capacity of the made-in-Nigeria vehicles.
“The Management of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company wishes to thank the newly sworn-in Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, for keeping his promise to use Innoson Vehicle as his Official Car, and the company is delighted to see him keep his words on the occasion of his Inauguration,” the statement read in part.
It further read that “the company is grateful that Mr. Governor wants to look inward, partner with and promote local products. The Innoson Group looks forward to a fruitful partnership with the government under your leadership, and wishes to reiterate her commitment to support your government in any way possible in order to ensure it achieves her vision.”
Soludo was said to have described as “insane” for leaders to patronize foreign brands and ignore their own brands.
In his own words, “you will not get to Europe and find any European government using or buying Japanese Toyota for the operations of their police or for their president or for their officers. That government will come down the next day.
“You will not get to China or Philippines and find their leaders wearing fabrics not made in their home lands. That is how you create jobs. If you want to get funds from the US or from wherever, it is America first. You are going to patronize made in US. That is what it is.”
IVM recently announced that plans are already at an advanced stage to set up another manufacturing plant in Owerri, Imo State.
“The Innoson factory expansion will be situated at Naze Owerri in Imo. We have already acquired about 150,000sqm land for this project and construction works are ongoing,” said the Company’s Chairman.
He further explained that the establishment of the plant in Imo is part of efforts to actualize the company’s mission to become a giant in vehicle production in Africa.
Presently, IVM says it is producing vehicles for about five countries in Africa, including Sierra Leone, Mali, Congo, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The company’s plant, which is currently being migrated from manual production to becoming a fully automated production plant, has the capacity to produce about 10,000 vehicles annually.
However, at the completion of the migration, production capacity is expected to increase to about 60,000 vehicles annually.