FG takes delivery of first batch of electric vehicles for civil servants
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
The Federal Government on Wednesday said it has taken delivery of the first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) promised civil servants, signalling the commencement of a broader rollout of cleaner-energy vehicles under President Bola Tinubu administration.
Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, made the disclosure after meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Osanipin said the delivery marked the beginning of the Federal Government’s plan to expand access to electric vehicles as part of efforts to reduce transportation costs, promote cleaner energy and deepen the development of Nigeria’s automotive industry.
According to him: “Today, you must have heard in the news that the first batch of the electric vehicle that the President promised civil servants was delivered today, and they are all electric vehicles. This is the beginning of more and more that will come.”
He said the government had deployed electric-vehicle infrastructure in about 16 universities across the country as part of efforts to create the ecosystem required to support the transition to alternative-energy transportation.
The NADDC DG explained that the impact of the government’s policies on electric vehicles and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) would become increasingly visible as investments in the supporting infrastructure expanded.
He said the transition to alternative fuels could not be achieved through policy alone, stressing that adequate infrastructure, including filling stations, mobile refuelling units and gas production facilities, was critical to making the initiative sustainable.
“You can’t put a policy in place today and start having the immediate impact. For example, when you talk about CNG, you put in place that policy. You need filling stations, mobile refill units and production of gas, and these are where investments have been going to lately,” he said.
Osanipin said the number of companies licensed to retail gas had increased sharply from about four to 81, describing the development as evidence of growing private-sector participation in the Federal Government’s CNG initiative.
“As at the time I was discussing with the agency in charge of that, I was told that as of today they have licensed about 81 firms that are into retailing of gas.
“So, which means we are making progress in that regard. When you realise that we had about four before and now we have this, gas is now more available in some states,” he said.
He further highlighted the potential of CNG to significantly reduce transportation costs, citing the experience of a traveller whose fuel expenditure on a journey reportedly dropped from more than N200,000 to about N40,000 after switching to CNG.
He said the traveller was able to refill with gas in Kano, demonstrating the expanding availability of CNG beyond the major commercial centres.
Osanipin said such experiences showed the potential of alternative fuels to lower the cost of transportation as more refuelling facilities become operational nationwide.
“So, a lot of people are already benefiting from this policy, and more and more will come now that we are having more people and more firms going into it and investing in it,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged concerns that some commercial transport operators benefiting from lower CNG costs had yet to pass the savings on to commuters through reduced fares.
According to him, the next phase of the government’s intervention would focus on ensuring that the benefits of cheaper alternative energy ultimately translate into lower transportation costs for Nigerians.
He explained that the immediate priority remained the expansion of infrastructure and ensuring adequate availability of alternative fuels, after which stronger measures could be introduced to ensure that savings enjoyed by operators were reflected in fares paid by commuters.
“We have a lot that are already doing it; fleet operators are already benefiting from this. So what we are pushing for again, because someone asked me that question, is that I have seen a lot of people benefiting from it, but they refuse to transfer the price to the masses.
“So that is going to be the next stage. But we just want to make sure that all the infrastructure and everything is coming. Then we now see enforcement of some of these policies,” he said.
Osanipin said his meeting with President Tinubu also provided an opportunity to brief the President on developments in the automotive sector, ongoing investments and progress on a draft legislation being developed for the industry.
He said the Council was working to strengthen the policy and regulatory framework needed to attract further investment, promote local automotive manufacturing and accelerate the development of Nigeria’s automotive industry.
The latest development comes as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to diversify Nigeria’s transportation energy mix through the promotion of CNG and electric mobility, with the objective of reducing dependence on petrol and diesel while lowering transportation costs and emissions.
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