Innoson exports $4.7m worth of vehicles to Sierra Leone, accelerating AfCTA implementation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) has delivered the first batch of vehicles assembled in Nnewi to Sierra Leone in a $4.7 million deal for the country’s army, approved by President Julius Maada Bio.
The vehicles, which arrived in Freetown 21 November 21, were built to order by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Defence.
Request for the vehicles was made during a visit to Innoson by the top hierarchy of the Defence Ministry, led by Internal Affairs Minister Edward Soloku, and Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation (SLRTC) President Isaac Ken-Green.
Various models of vehicles bought within that dispensation are for the present administration, Innoson Group Head of Corporate Communications Cornel Osigwe disclosed in a statement.
Osigwe said subsequently, the government of Sierra Leone placed an order for the production of Innoson vehicles valued at $4.7 million for the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces (RSLAF).
The first set of vehicles supplied from Nigeria left from Queen Elizabeth 2 Port (Sierra Leone’s seaport, “Water Quay”) in Freetown on November 21 for distribution to military officers across the country.
Sierra Leoneans have commended Bio for acting in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) by opting for African brand vehicles for use by the country’s armed forces.
Focus News Blog, a popular blog in Sierra Leone, hailed him for believing that “our army officers deserve better.”
The post, which showed a line up of the IVM products from Nigeria, informed Sierra Leoneans the vehicles would soon be “ready for distribution to military officers across the country.”
Another Sierra Leonean, Francis Ken Samu, said: “We are on top of the situation in times of security.”
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Innoson helps implementation of AfCTA
Innoson has penetrated the vehicle market over the years and is one of the few wholly African car assemblers, according to Osigwe, per Vanguard reporting.
The Sierra Leonean deal is a step towards the acceleration of intra-African trade facilitated by the implementation of AfCTA.
Sierra Leone is the first country in West Africa whose armed forces are using IVM products outside Nigeria. The deal is a step towards the acceleration of intra-African trade facilitated by the implementation of AfCTA.
The export comes two years after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the AfCFTA agreement in July 2019.
Back in 2018, the Nigerian army signed a partnership agreement with Innoson for the supply of purpose-built vehicles for its personnel.
The agreement includes identifying requirements for the production of armoured personnel carriers in the Nigerian Army Central Workshop in Kaduna and enhancing the capacity of personnel to participate in the implementation of the joint ventures.