Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has commissioned the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) Automotive Training Centre in Abakaliki, calling on automobile manufacturers, investors and indigenous entrepreneurs to explore opportunities in the state.
The facility, located along Ogoja Road in Abakaliki, was formally commissioned on Friday, September 18, 2026. It is the first NADDC automotive training centre commissioned in the South-East geopolitical zone.
Nwifuru said the centre was part of his administration’s efforts to build an economy based on production, technical expertise and entrepreneurship rather than consumption.
According to the governor, the automotive facility represents more than a conventional mechanic workshop, describing it as an investment in the technical skills and economic future of Ebonyi youths.
He said the project also demonstrates collaboration between the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his administration’s People’s Charter of Needs.
Nwifuru commended the NADDC for establishing the facility in Ebonyi and expressed his administration’s readiness to strengthen its partnership with the council.
The governor used the occasion to invite automobile manufacturers, investors and local entrepreneurs to invest in Ebonyi, particularly in automotive services, vehicle diagnostics, component production, electric mobility and technical education.
He assured potential investors of an enabling environment for technology transfer, local capacity development and sustainable employment. Similar reports of the commissioning also identified investment attraction, technology transfer and job creation as key themes of the governor’s address.
Nwifuru also urged young people in the state to reconsider the perception that technical education is inferior to conventional academic education.
He said properly trained automotive technicians and engineers could establish businesses, employ other people and contribute to industrial development.
The governor explained that Ebonyi’s industrialisation strategy depends heavily on infrastructure and skilled manpower, stressing that both must develop together for the state to achieve its economic potential.
He expressed the expectation that the new centre would become a hub where young people acquire practical skills and convert those skills into businesses and sustainable employment.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the project reflected the Federal Government’s focus on skills development, human capital development, industrialisation and economic diversification.
Enoh noted that the Ebonyi facility was the first NADDC centre he had commissioned in the South-East and stressed the importance of technical training as automotive technology continues to evolve.
He particularly pointed to the emergence of electric vehicles and other modern automotive technologies, saying specialised training would be increasingly necessary to prepare Nigerians for changes in the industry.
The minister encouraged young Nigerians to acquire technical skills that could help them establish businesses and create employment instead of relying exclusively on salaried jobs.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, said the Abakaliki facility was established to strengthen automotive technical skills, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and prepare workers for emerging technologies.
He said the centre had modern training equipment designed to provide practical and industry-relevant training for youths, technicians, artisans, students, vehicle owners, entrepreneurs and other automotive practitioners.
According to Osanipin, the facility would serve as a centre for automotive skills acquisition, technical innovation, entrepreneurship development, technology transfer and workforce preparation.
He added that NADDC was working on an automotive certification framework covering different qualification levels, from Level One to Level Nine, in line with Nigeria’s skills qualification framework.
The programme, he said, would cover emerging areas such as compressed natural gas technology, electric vehicles, automotive mechatronics and electronic vehicle diagnostics.
Osanipin said the initiative would help build a workforce capable of supporting the automotive, agricultural and industrial equipment sectors in Ebonyi and across the South-East.
The NADDC director-general appealed to the Ebonyi State Government to support efforts to restore electricity to the facility after the transformer serving the centre was vandalised.
He explained that dependable electricity was necessary for the effective operation of the specialised equipment installed at the automotive training centre.
The Chairman of the NADDC Governing Board, Chief Emma Eneukwu, commended the Federal and Ebonyi State governments for working together on the project.
Eneukwu said the governing board would continue to provide policy direction and oversight to ensure that NADDC programmes and investments deliver practical benefits to Nigerians.
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Human Capital Development and Monitoring, Chief Mrs Ann Aligwe, said the centre aligned with the state government’s emphasis on sustainable skills acquisition.
According to her, the facility would create opportunities for young people and women in Ebonyi to acquire technical competencies that could improve their economic independence.
The NADDC is responsible for promoting the development of Nigeria’s automotive industry, including technical skills, infrastructure, local content and other areas supporting the country’s automotive manufacturing ecosystem.
The commissioning of the Abakaliki centre is expected to expand access to automotive skills training in Ebonyi and the wider South-East while supporting technology transfer and workforce development.
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