The Managing Director of Nigeria’s foremost auto assembler, PAN Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, has received the winning trophy of the recently concluded Argungu Motor Race. The trophy was presented to him recently by PAN Nigeria Argungu Motor Race Team.

Peugeot 508 GT, the car that won the motor race, defeated all its competitors-Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Changan (from the stable of Stallion Motors), GAC, JAC (Elizade Motors), Yutong and JMC-to win the trophy. The car was adjudged the overall best winner because it met all the criteria stipulated by the organizers of the rally.”

At the trophy presentation ceremony, which was organized recently, Mr. Mohammed said that, “PAN Nigeria is the oldest and the most consistent participant in the Argungu Motor Race. We participated in the 2020 edition of the motor race in order to support the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the federal government agency that drives the modernization, development and growth of the automobile industry in the country. NADDC aspires to use the annual auto rally to prove the importance of the nation’s auto policy, and we fully support this.”

The auto boss explained that “The motor rally created good opportunities for the industry to make a formal presentation of all locally manufactured vehicles in Nigeria to the executive and the legislature arms of government at an elaborate “Show and Tell” media ceremony, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade & Investment at the Eagle Square, Abuja. The event gave PAN Nigeria a platform to showcase its capacity as a foremost manufacturer/assembler in the country, and we commend the organizers for a job well done.”

Mohammed added that, “The unique selling points of the winning brand are performance, comfort, fuel economy, adaptability and safety. These are the things that worked in favour of and enabled the car to win the keenly contested race. For the average Nigerian car users, the major attractions of the Peugeot 508GT are its ruggedness and durability.”

The Argungu Motor Rally is Nigeria’s premium and first motorsport. It started in the early 70s as part of the Argungu Fishing Festival, and has overtime developed into a growing and internationally recognized brand. The rally was however suspended in the 80s and was revived in 2004 and it went extinct again in 2009. In 2020, the event made a major comeback as it teamed up with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to showcase Nigeria’s locally manufactured and assembled automobiles, aimed at promoting and galvanizing our automotive sector.

The three days race, held recently, covered seven states: FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi. From the flag-off point at the Eagle Square in Abuja, FCT, to the flag-down centre in Argungu, Kebbi State, the drivers traversed 13 major cities and towns: Abuja, Keffi, Kachia, Kaduna, Funtua, Gusau, Sokoto, Shagari, Dogondaji, Tambuwal, Jega, Birnin Kebbi and Argungu.