Lagos Motorfair organisers challenges FG, Stakeholders

Arrangements are now on top gear for this year’s 11th edition of the Lagos Motor and Autoparts exhibition taking place inside the Federal Palace Hotel (FPH), Victoria Island despite the gloomy picture painted by current development around the Nigerian economy.

To this end, BKG Exhibitions Limited with Ifeanyi Agwu, managing director and chief executive has called on the federal government and stakeholders in the automotive business to show more commitment towards the growth of the automotive market. He stated that no serious government plays with the automotive industry.

“All they government need to do is to talk to players in the automobile sector, and if they are not participating, it means the sector is not built on a solid ground. So we are asking every stakeholder in the sector to get involved because this is an event that will demonstrate the strength and ruggedness of the industry”, he noted.

He regretted that as one of the key drivers of any economy, the auto sector does not only create massive employment or help in transfer of technology, it also helps to galvanise the growth of other auto components manufacturing sectors

As a build up to the one week vehicle and automotive spare parts exhibition, Ifeanyi Agwu, managing director and chief executive of BKG Exhibitions, franchise owners of the annual Lagos Motorfairs disclosed to the motoring press that the event will hold from April 28-May 4, 2016.

While the automobile exhibition is between April 28 and May 4, the auto-parts expo which is targeting auto parts dealers from the West African sub-region and participants from other countries including Turkey will hold from May 1-4. The expo targeting about 23 countries in Africa aims to use the event to position Nigeria as a hub to other parts of West and Central Africa.

To achieve set objectives of a broad state holder conversation at the upcoming event, BKG says, it will be collaborating with the relevant government agencies to reach out to embassies for full participation. “As he put it, “We have confidence that Nigeria will be positioned to play a role to make it beneficial to all concerned. That is why we are partnering with all relevant government ministries and agencies to make it unique”.

Ifeanyi Agwu disclosed that during the forthcoming event, BKG Exhibitions will be adopting new approaches that will pay attention on stakeholder engagements, driving new options and evolving fresh and new cultures and orientations for the motoring public.

According the CEO who double as the chairman of the organising committee, “ We thought the Motorfair will not hold this year, but on a second thought, we decided that it would hold because despite the harsh economic condition confronting the sector, there are still cars on the road, and they those selling them have not closed shop”.

He maintained that, his team is never discouraged by the vicissitudes of the car market in Nigeria which at past exhibitions have forced stakeholders to stay away while purchase decisions by consumers are also hampered by the deep holes created in the pockets of shoppers.