Firm plans $100m investment in auto industry

The Chief Executive Officer of Asper Online Auctioning Company, Saheed Ashogbon, has appealed to both President Bola Tinubu and the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to partner with the company to kick start a $100m automobile investment in the country.

The United States-based business owner stated that on Wednesday during a press conference in Lagos.

He said that the firm, which deals in car auctioning through its online store, had proposed an initiative to the government to help remove abandoned vehicles and makeshift dealers from the roadsides with a plan to centralise automobile businesses in a designated location.

Ashogbon explained that aside from helping the government ensure the roads are free from unnecessarily parked cars, it would also serve as a platform where owners of ‘end of life cars’ could quickly get a buyer for their abandoned vehicles.

He stated that the company’s research had identified close to 500,000 indiscriminate parking of abandoned vehicles in Lagos alone.

He further said that he decided to add the initiative to his chain of business in Nigeria and abroad after Tinubu met a group of business owners in Atlanta Georgia, United States in 2022 with a plea for more investment in Nigeria.

Ashogbon, an automotive expert, stated that upon government buy-in, the business would contribute to the country’s GDP and create 1,500 jobs for Nigerian youths.

“At the start of the business, 20 youths from each of the 57 local governments and local council development areas will be employed immediately for different already mapped duties. All we are waiting for is the government’s buy-in by providing 50 hectares of land in Badagry, Epe, and Ikorodu for the commencement of operations.”

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