FG launches vehicle dealership registration to curb fraud and stolen car sales

Keypoints

• The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has inaugurated the National Vehicle Dealership Registration Framework to sanitize Nigeria’s automotive sector.
• Director-General Joseph Osanipin stated that the initiative will create a comprehensive database to ensure the traceability of vehicles and protect buyers from purchasing stolen or defective cars.
• The framework aims to unlock vehicle financing from banks, as a verified dealer database reduces the risk for financial institutions lending to used-car buyers.
• The system is a collaborative effort between the NADDC, the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), and Omnipact Ventures, featuring a new digital registration portal.

Main Story

The Federal Government has moved to end the era of “identity-less” motor dealing in Nigeria with the launch of a formal registration framework for all vehicle dealers.

During the inauguration in Abuja on Friday, April 10, 2026, Joseph Osanipin explained that the lack of centralized data has long enabled a market for stolen vehicles, often leaving innocent buyers to face arrest. By requiring dealers to register on a national portal, the government intends to make every transaction traceable to a specific, verified source.

This move is as much about economic growth as it is about security. Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, President of AMDON, noted that “the economy revolves around data,” and this framework provides the transparency needed to facilitate credit.

With a certified list of dealers, commercial banks are expected to be more willing to offer auto loans, potentially making vehicle ownership more accessible to the average Nigerian. The framework also sets the stage for better after-sales support, as manufacturers will now have a verified network of partners to provide genuine parts and maintenance services.

The Issues

The primary challenge is the persistence of informal “car stands” and independent sellers who operate outside of any regulatory oversight. The NADDC must solve the problem of market compliance without creating a bottleneck that stifles small-scale businesses. While the system is designed to be “self-regulating” through consumer awareness, there remains a significant data gap from decades of unrecorded imports and sales. Furthermore, the success of the initiative depends on the integration of the portal with other law enforcement databases to ensure that stolen vehicle reports are flagged in real-time during dealer transactions.

What’s Being Said

• “It has been long overdue for us to have full data, full details, and the identity of those who are motor dealers in Nigeria,” stated Joseph Osanipin, DG of NADDC.
• Prince Ajibola Adedoyin of AMDON described the initiative as a “milestone” that will enable authorities to trace every car to the “doorstep of the source.”
• Banking representatives have previously noted that “Banks will not want to finance someone they will give money to and it will disappear,” a risk this framework aims to eliminate.
• Consumer advocates welcomed the move, noting that it shifts the burden of verification from the buyer to a government-vetted system.

What’s Next

• Digital Portal Rollout: The nationwide registration via the digital portal will remain a continuous process, with dealers required to renew their certificates annually.
• Public Awareness Campaign: The NADDC and AMDON will launch a media campaign to educate buyers on why they should only patronize registered dealers.
• Phase-out of Non-compliant Operators: Authorities expect that market forces will gradually squeeze out unregistered dealers as buyers and banks demand formal certification.
• Integration with VehCAP: This dealership framework is expected to work alongside the recently launched SON-NADDC Vehicle Conformity Assessment Programme (VehCAP) to ensure both the dealer and the vehicle are fully certified.

Bottom Line

By creating a “digital paper trail” for every car dealer in the country, the Federal Government is attempting to transform a fragmented and often risky automotive market into a transparent industry. For the consumer, this means the end of “buyer beware” and the start of a more secure, financeable path to vehicle ownership.

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