Motor dealers get official identity as NADDC opens nationwide registration

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has begun registering motor dealers across Nigeria, starting from the North-West, to build a database of the market’s size, distribution and operations.

The programme targets members of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON) and other vehicle sellers. It follows the launch of the National Automotive Repository Portal and is delivered through a digital framework.

“For the dealer, registration provides an opportunity to establish a verifiable business identity within the automotive sector,” Director-General Otunba Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin said in remarks delivered on his behalf by the Director of Policy, Planning and Statistics, Mr. Umar Nura Sidi, at a sensitisation workshop for North-West dealers in Kaduna on September 30, 2026.

Osanipin said the exercise would bring greater organisation and visibility to the subsector, and that it offers legitimate businesses an official place in the formal automotive ecosystem rather than an added regulatory burden.

He added that a properly documented sector strengthens consumer confidence and improves dealers’ access to financial institutions, investors and international suppliers.

He noted that the absence of comprehensive data had made policy planning difficult.

The new framework, he said, closes that gap and lets government design evidence-based interventions for the industry.

AMDON’s National President, Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, pledged the association’s full support.

“Motor dealers play a vital role in the automotive value chain and the broader economy,” Adedoyin said, urging members nationwide to take an active part.

He said a structured subsector creates a stronger foundation for collaboration between business owners and the government.

NADDC described the North-West as a strategic starting point because of its commercial activity and its role in regional trade, logistics and transportation.

The Council urged dealers to register promptly and said ongoing consultations with AMDON, state governments and financial institutions will keep the process accessible, transparent and responsive to operators’ needs.