UNILAG and Nord Automobile Drive Nigeria’s Automotive Future

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has made history by partnering with Nord Automobile to establish Africa’s first university-based automobile assembly plant on its Akoka campus. The Nord UNILAG Assembly Plant, launched in July 2022, combines education, innovation, and indigenous automobile manufacturing to transform Nigeria’s automotive sector and promote local content. The partnership enables UNILAG students from various disciplines to gain practical hands-on experience through internships, while Nord Automobile designs, assembles, and markets a range of made-in-Nigeria vehicles on campus.

On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, UNILAG proudly hosted Honourable Dr. Olajumoke Omoniyi Oduwole, MFR, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and distinguished alumna of UNILAG’s Faculty of Law. The Minister officially took delivery of her brand-new official vehicle, the Nord Demir SUV, assembled at the Nord UNILAG Assembly Plant, in a symbolic ceremony coinciding with Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebrations. By choosing a locally assembled vehicle, Dr. Oduwole underscored the presidency’s Renewed Hope Agenda led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, reaffirming the government’s commitment to Nigerian content, economic diversification, job creation, and foreign exchange savings.

The Nord UNILAG Assembly Plant features state-of-the-art research and development, manufacturing, assembly workshops, and an elegant showroom that showcases completed vehicles. Nord Automobile CEO Joshua Oluwatobi Ajayi highlighted that while some vehicle parts are sourced globally, the company manufactures many components locally and invests heavily in training to meet global standards. Nord Motion currently produces several models, including the Nord Flit, Nord Max, Nord A3, A5, A7, Nord Demir, Nord Tank, Nord Tusk, and Nord Tripper, with assembly capacities of 5 vehicles daily at UNILAG and 10 vehicles at their Epe plant.

This collaboration between UNILAG and Nord Automobile is more than business; it is a catalyst for innovation, bridging academia and industry to foster research, technology transfer, and skills acquisition in fields beyond engineering, such as architecture and business administration. The partnership also extends to emerging technologies like electric vehicles and drones for commercial and security applications.

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Dr. Oduwole acclaimed this initiative as a demonstration of Nigeria’s potential to build world-class solutions and pledged to promote the patronage of Nord vehicles across all government levels and the private sector. Her choice of a Nord vehicle for official use aims to inspire confidence in Nigerian manufacturing, enhance local production, and support the economic agenda of stabilizing and growing the nation’s economy.

UNILAG’s visionary role in hosting such enterprises places it at the center of Nigeria’s industrial transformation narrative, illustrating that with collaboration and excellence, the future can indeed be built locally. The university continues to be the “University of First Choice and the Nation’s Pride,” fostering a generation equipped to innovate and lead Nigeria’s development journey forward.