The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of electric vehicles to civil servants as part of its efforts to promote cleaner transportation and reduce the cost of commuting.
The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Joseph Osanipin, disclosed this on Wednesday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
Osanipin said the first batch of the electric vehicles promised to civil servants had been delivered, describing the development as the beginning of a wider rollout.
“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 NADDC boss also revealed that the government had established electric vehicle infrastructure in about 16 universities across the country as part of efforts to build the facilities required to support the adoption of alternative-energy vehicles.
According to him, government policies on electric vehicles and Compressed Natural Gas would have a greater impact as investments in the infrastructure needed to support them continue to grow.
Osanipin stressed that policies alone would not be enough to drive the transition to alternative fuels, noting that facilities such as filling stations, mobile refill units and gas production infrastructure were necessary.
“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.
He further disclosed that the number of companies licensed to retail gas had increased from about four to 81, describing the development as an indication of growing private-sector participation in the 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,” Osanipin stated.
To illustrate the potential savings from CNG, he cited the experience of a traveller whose fuel expenses reportedly dropped from more than N200,000 to about N40,000 after switching to CNG and refuelling in Kano.
However, Osanipin acknowledged concerns that some commercial transport operators benefiting from cheaper CNG had yet to reflect the savings in the fares charged to passengers.
He said the government would next focus on ensuring that the benefits of alternative fuels were eventually passed on to 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.
“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 added that his meeting with the President also covered developments in Nigeria’s automotive industry, including ongoing investments and proposed legislation aimed at strengthening the sector’s regulatory and policy framework.
The legislation, he said, is expected to support further investment and accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s automotive industry.