The Federal Government of Nigeria has hinted of plans to commence the development of electric vehicles (EVs) under its Automotive Policy as the race towards carbon emission-free automobiles and other machineries adoption continue to gain traction globally.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, made this disclosure at the Validation Workshop of the Draft National Action Plan for the Development of EVs in Nigeria organized by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in Abuja.
She explained that the plans highlighted the steps needed to be taken by the government in its current drive towards successfully rolling out electric vehicles in the country.
Describing the manufacturing of EVs as the norm now and no longer the future, Ngige said: “It is here in Nigeria, and it is to that extent that we should embrace what we are doing today. This plan highlights the necessary steps needed to be taken to achieve success in EV development, expansion, and use in Nigeria.
“This includes incentives, regulatory framework, financing, and infrastructural requirements such as charging stations, training, and capacity building.
“The plan that we are going to deliberate on shortly also identifies relevant stakeholders that will support the development and expansion of EVs in Nigeria”, she added.
According to her, the workshop is organized to review and validate the plan to make it more comprehensive and all-encompassing, lead to the development of a detailed and more comprehensive national action plan for the development of EVs in Nigeria from which a strategic policy and plans on EVs will emerge.
The Permanent Secretary charged all stakeholders and participants at this workshop to critically appraise the draft document to ensure that what comes out of it is a robust policy on EVs comparable to any in the world.”
Speaking at the forum, the Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Bashir Gwandu, described the electric vehicle policy as a good initiative of the government that required collective support to ensure its successful implementation.
He assured that agency would collaborate with the NADDC to develop solar systems for charging stations nationwide for the EVs.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had recently announced the approval of the Nigeria Investment Policy (NInP), and the adoption of a National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NADIP) for implementation from 2023-2033.
