Fuel subsidy removal: Delta mulls investment in electric vehicles

By Lateef Taiwo

Delta State Government, Thursday, said it may consider investment in electric vehicles for mass transportation to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on the citizens.

The State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori stated this shortly after inspection and test-drive of two electric vehicles presented by Ajaere Motors and Jet Motor Company at Government House, Asaba.

He said he was putting up a Committee to be headed by Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu to look into the economic viability and operational sustainability of electric vehicles in Nigeria.

“This is the first time I have the opportunity to drive electric vehicles and you can see that it’s smooth, noiseless and comfortable, and with the way the price of fuel is going up electric vehicles are better at this time because everybody is trying to move away from fuel to save cost.

“The Electric vehicles (E.V) are cheaper; the only thing is that we are still studying this model and we are coming out with our own decision very shortly, to know whether to go in that direction, especially with the present hike in petrol price.

“Everybody is trying to go in that direction. It will also be economical and the good thing about this is that I am putting together a team headed by the Secretary to the State Government, to understudy this and see if it is something the state can do to support the transporters and reduce cost of transportation,” he stated.

Also speaking, Chairman of Jet Motors, Chidi Ajaere said investing in electric vehicles was the way to go considering that the vehicles were eco-friendly and cheaper to manage.

He said future thinking mobility companies are investing in electric vehicles as the cost of transportation has become so high due to rising cost of fuel and maintenance.

Ajaere said: “The Federal Government is already taking the initiative of investing in electric vehicles. We have abundance of sun in Nigeria, so the idea for the Federal Government and the Delta State government is looking into building solar powered charging infrastructure.