FG, EU unveil electric motorcycles for Rural Nigeria
The Federal Ministry of Power has in Lagos launched 10 electric-powered motorcycles manufactured by MAX Nigeria under its Electric Vehicle (EV) opportunities in rural and peri-urban communities in Nigeria.
The pilot project was funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, within the framework of the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
According to NAN, these motorcycles were deployed to Gbamu-Gbamu mini-grid solar community in Ogun to transport goods and agricultural produce under the pilot phase of the programme.
The Director, Renewal and Rural Power Access Department of the Federal Ministry of Power, Mr Abubakar Ali-Dapshima, said electric mobility was very important to the socio-economic development of rural and peri-urban communities.
Ali-Dapshima, who was represented by Philip Abel said, “The objective of the project is to showcase the opportunities, and impact electric mobility synergised with solar mini-grid projects, bring to communities.
“The project has thus far revealed great benefits that cut across economic and environmental aspects, to both the community dwellers and the mini-grid developers’’
The Director-General, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Jelani Aliyu, emphasized the agency’s commitment to promoting investment in the automotive sector.
Aliyu pointed out that EVs were not just the future of transportation but a technology already in use and beginning a paradigm shift, even in Nigeria.
He said: “NADDC’s National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), currently being implemented, captures the role of EVs in driving Nigeria’s economy.
“Recently, the agency enabled and promoted the assembly of the first Electric Vehicle in Nigeria, the Hyundai Kona EV, and is now working on strategies to scale and mainstream EVs across Nigeria.
“It is, therefore, an excellent development that electric motorbikes are already being deployed and tested in rural mini-grid communities, revealing the huge potential for the role of electric mobility across Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the event, the Head of Section, Green and Digital Economy at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Inga Stefanowicz, pledged the EU’s support to the project.
She said that the EU’s support within the framework of NESP aims to create an open market for more investments in the renewable energy market in Nigeria, adding that this to help facilitate access to reliable and affordable electricity in Nigeria, especially in the disadvantaged areas of the country.
