Oluwatobi Ajayi, the Chairman/CEO of Nord Automobile Limited, has announced the launch of Naerospace, an arm of the automobile company that will produces commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones.
Oluwatobi Ajayi made this known on Friday in a tweet posted on his verified Twitter account :
“I am pleased to inform you that we have started a new company @flynaerospace that produces unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which we popularly call drones.
The auto pilot software was designed and developed by us here in Nigeria by brilliant Nigerians, wholly owned by us.”
The Lagos-based automaker first gave the hint last month during the inauguration of ultra-modern Automotive Complex built in partnership with University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Nord’s Automotive Complex inside University of Lagos (UNILAG) houses a research and development center, automobile assembly plant, showroom and after-sales workshop.
Speaking at the inauguration, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, disclosed that the facility will not only make Nigerian-built cars but also make drones for commercial purposes.
He said:
“We are going to be manufacturing drones in this same place. They already have an agreement with the Nigerian Air Force.
“And I want us to know that our students will learn something new in this area of drones and other things that will come from this particular arrangement.”
Speaking on the drone project at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Nord, Mr Oluwatobi Ajayi, said that most of the components needed for the drone project are readily available in Nigeria.
“We also have Nord aerospace here. We designed the drones ourselves; nobody can shut us down; no country can shut us down because the software was designed here in Nigeria by young Nigerians,” he said.