The Federal Ministry of Regional Development in Nigeria has inspected the progress of the ongoing assembly of 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for distribution across the six states of the North-East.
The Minister of Regional Development, Mr Abubakar Momoh, told journalists during the inspection of the plant in Maiduguri, Borno State, that the electric vehicles, comprising buses, tricycles and taxis, would be deployed alongside charging infrastructure to serve rural communities and urban centres across the region.
Mr. Mohmoh said the project was being implemented under the management of the North East Development Commission, NEDC, following approval by the Federal Executive Council.
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“We have visited the EV assembly plant under the management of the North East Development Commission. These are projects approved by the Federal Executive Council. From what we have seen today, I can say that I am very much impressed because nearly all the 10,000 EVs and tricycles are on the ground.
They are already being assembled. We have also seen a number of e-taxis and buses. We are very much impressed. For me, I think we are not disappointed, and I am sure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will also be very happy to see that this project has actually seen the light of day,” Mr Abubakar said.
According to the Minister, the project would create employment opportunities for young people during the assembly process and after the vehicles are deployed across the North-East.
“I have been told that all these EVs are going to the six states in the North-East and, by the time they get there, apart from the fact that they will help improve the movement of people, they will also create jobs. Take a look at the assembly process. Even before the commissioning, jobs have been created.
The vehicles are being assembled by our people. When I asked the Director of Operations, he said that before we complete the 10,000 target, at least 100,000 people will have benefited from jobs in the assembly process. This is the transformation that this administration is talking about,” he explained.
Mr. Momoh said the rural road projects inspected by the ministry would also complement the electric vehicle initiative, saying the e-vehicles and the roads inspected are interlinked and that most of the tricycles seen were like mini-buses.
He said the vehicles would be used to carry both passengers and agricultural produce.
“Let me say in clear terms that, from the very first project we visited, which is the Ngwom/Kushebe/Khaddamari axis, to Gongulong, we have seen tremendous improvement on that road corridor,” the minister said.
He, however, urged the management of the NEDC to ensure that rural dwellers were not left out of the distribution of the electric vehicles when the project is completed.
“I am using this opportunity to appeal to the Managing Director of NEDC that, in the distribution, he should make sure that the people along the corridors of the new roads are catered for because they need these machines to evacuate their produce from their areas to the city centre,” he said.
At the NEDC headquarters in Maiduguri, after the inspection of the ongoing construction, the minister also expressed satisfaction with the pace of work, saying the project is expected to be completed within the next 18 to 24 months.
“And here we are today at the headquarters of the North East Development Commission. When we were here last year, it was at the basement level. Today, the basement is completed and work on one section of the building is already ongoing.
“The contractors have assured us that, plus or minus, with adequate funding, this project will see the light of day within the next 18 to 24 months,” he said.
The Minister commended the management and board of the NEDC for their commitment to fulfilling the commission’s mandate of rebuilding the region after more than a decade of insurgency.
“In all, I want to commend the management and the board of the NEDC for what they have done so far. Now that we are already making progress, we may need to identify other areas where they think we can make more impact because that is what the administration of Mr President is all about.”
His priority is connecting villages with roads,” he stressed.
In his remarks during the e-Vehicles inspection at the University of Maiduguri Plant section, the Managing Director of the North-east Development Commission, Mr Muhammed Goni Alkali, said that the commission had decided to produce over 10,000 vehicles to ease the lives of people in the North-east and to enhance the Farming and Marketing of people in the region.
Mr Alkali said the Commission, with the mission of the Nigerian Government under the Leadership of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, decided to renovate and build the Ngom, Koshebe, Gongulan, Khddamari, Dusuman and Zabarmari roads.
At the end of his visitation the Minister of Regional Development was able to inspect the new state Office and the headquarters of the Commission, and inspect the new e-Vehiles and the Road networks that link Ngom, Koshebe, Gongulan, Dusuman, Khaddamari and Zabarmari roads, which are expected to be commissioned by President Bola Tinubu.
