President Bola Tinubu has given the green light for the adoption of electric vehicles (e-vehicles) in the North-East region as part of efforts to reduce transportation costs.
This was announced on Wednesday, October 2, by Mohammed Alkali, CEO of the North East Development Commission, NEDC.
According to Alkali, the decision aligns with plans to establish modular solar power units across the region’s states, providing a sustainable energy source for the e-vehicles.
Alkali explained that after conducting a detailed assessment of both compressed natural gas, CNG, and electric vehicles, the NEDC determined that EVs are more appropriate for the region’s transportation needs.
Abdulsalam Ahmed, NEDC’s Executive Director of Operations, provided further details on the upcoming electric vehicle fleet. It will feature three categories: electric buses designed for intra-state routes with a capacity to carry at least 40 passengers per trip, electric taxis accommodating three passengers including the driver, and modified electric tricycles capable of carrying eight people, driver included.
Ahmed emphasized that the commission is committed to promoting local production. The vehicle bodies will be manufactured locally, either in the North-East or other regions within Nigeria, to support local content and stimulate job creation.
“We are here today to brief Mr president on one very critical activity he has approved which we had to engage in the last two months,” he said.
“As you can recall, there is a directive from the president that cars as soon as possible should use CNG or electric vehicles. We, at the North-East Development Commission, did a thorough analysis of our region, and looked at the comparable advantage between CNG and e-vehicles.
“After our thorough analysis, we came to the conclusion that for the north-east region, yes, the CNG could work, but e-vehicle can work better for many reasons.
“One is that our plan at the end of day is to create modular solar power units across the state which can be used to power this percentage of e-vehicles.
“On that note, earlier on, we sought and got approval of the presidency for us to go ahead and come up with the framework of how we are going to deploy this e-mobility in the northeast and what kind of e-mobility, etc.
”Mr. President graciously gave approval, and today, we came to present to him the kind of e-vehicles we are going to introduce in the north-east.”
Comments