(Joseph Osanipin And President Bola Tinubu. Photo by Daily Nigerian)
Nigeria’s automotive council is setting up electric vehicle and natural gas infrastructure in sixteen universities to help the country switch to cleaner energy vehicles.
The council’s director said this is part of building the skills and equipment needed to support the adoption of these new technologies.
He explained that when you introduce new technology like electric vehicles or compressed natural gas, you cannot just announce a policy and expect people to use it.
You need charging stations, refilling points, production facilities and people trained to maintain the equipment.
These investments are now happening across the country.
About 81 companies have been licensed to sell compressed natural gas for vehicles.
This shows that businesses are seeing opportunity in the sector and investing money.
As more firms join the market, natural gas will become available in more states, the director said.
Some vehicle operators and fleet companies are already saving money by using natural gas instead of petrol.
But not all of them are passing these savings on to ordinary passengers through lower fares.
The government said that will be the next focus once all the infrastructure is properly in place.
The first batch of electric vehicles the president promised to federal workers has been delivered.
These are the first of more vehicles that will come.
The government also inaugurated one hundred electric buses for federal workers to help with transportation and make work more productive.
Building this infrastructure in universities means young people will learn the skills needed to work on these new vehicles as the country shifts away from petrol and diesel.
