Review recommendations on privatisation, VON tells Senate

THE ManagingDirector of VONAutomobiles Nigeria Limited, Tokunbo Aromolaran, has urged the ad hoc committee of the Senate on the activities of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to review its recommendations to reflect the reality on the ground.VON in a statement in Lagos, at the weekend, said with the imminent roll-out of its first vehicles on Nigerian roads, its efforts at setting up and inaugu-rating its factory were expected to cause cele-brations and cheer to the Nigerian automobile in-dustry.Under the circum-stances, the firm said it was surprised by the adverse references on VON reported by the ad hoc committee set up to review BPE's performance on privatisation of public enterprises.Aromolaran said the management and staff of VON were, indeed, dis-appointed by the fact that their efforts to resuscitate the plant had been overlooked.'Importantly, VON is on the verge of an historic revival, after several years of closure. The first Nigeria-made vehicles have com-menced roll-out from its state-of-the-art facility, in-tended to replace import of fully built versions.'Through a sustained inflow of capital, the plant has been successfully commissioned with a comprehensive system of equipment and machinery designed to meet the standards of global com-mercial vehicle brands.'A phased approach to expand the range and volume of vehicles and the requisite financial invest-ment are firmly in place,' Aromolaran said.According to him, several Nigerians had been employed, helping it to achieve larger plans that would eventually benefit thousands of Nigerian staff, ancillary industries and other stakeholders.Aromolaran said inve-stors were beginning to see a stable polity in Nigeria under the leadership of President Goodluck Jona-than and were showing keen to invest in the country, adding that 'we are fully and faithfully committed to ongoing and future invest-ments and to all obligations under the privatisation. VON sincerely believes that necessary policy guidelines would be enacted to support the growth ambitions of VON and other committed players in the Nigerian automobile industry.
Click here to read full news..