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By Moses Akaigwe
The Federal Government agency that drives activities in the nation’s vehicle manufacturing industry, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), has disclosed that electric vehicles (EVs) are being integrated into its National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).
The NAIDP Fiscal Incentive and Guarantees Bill is being reviewed with the aim of returning it to the National Assembly as an executive bill.
Addressing participants at a forum organised by the Nigeria Automotive Journalist Association (NAJA) on Thursday, the director-general of the NADDC, Jelani Aliyu, also disclosed that the NAIDP would be passed into law before the end of the year.
Jelani, who addressed participants virtually, reiterated that electric vehicles remain the future of automobile globally with many countries setting target for migration into electric vehicles.
The DG who spoke at the workshop with the theme, “Migration to Electric Vehicles and Gas-powered Vehicles; Opportunities & Challenges for Nigeria,” said the EV is being incorporated into the NAIDP, which he promised would be passed before the end of the year.
According to him, a lot of development like the EVs as well as gas-powered vehicles are springing up as the government fine-tunes the auto policy bill.
On the charging stations for electric vehicle, the DG encouraged Business men and women to take advantage of the opportunity.
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The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, in his submission said migration into electric vehicles would reduce the dangerous emissions from fossil fuel vehicles mostly second hand flooding the Nigerian market.
Oyeyemi represented by the Lagos Sector Commander, Olusegun Ogungbemide disclosed that 80 per cent of vehicles are second hand.
“Some of them are as old as 30 years and when they come in, we embrace them as new vehicles, we subject them to the same activities that the new vehicles are being subjected to, not minding the costs,” he said.
He said: “This migration is so important to Nigeria especially in the area of health. Many people are in the hospital in Lagos today, which hitherto wouldn’t have been if our atmosphere has been so sanitized.
“The closest to it that we had in Lagos was during the lockdown when we had less vehicles on Nigerian roads. The commissioner for health testified to it when I visited him. During the lockdown, 70 to 80 per cent of vehicles with all these emissions were erased from the system with the exception of articulated vehicles.”
The NADDC DG had at a previous forum explained that NAIDP Fiscal Incentive and Guarantees Bill was being reviewed to make it more comprehensive, more engaging, robust and effective towards achieving sustainable growth and development of the automotive industry in Nigeria within the shortest possible time.
The Federal Government, through the NADDC, has been taking steps towards enhancing the on-going strategic transition from fossil fuel to pure electric power, with the launch of solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations which have already been inaugurated in Sokoto and Lagos, while another is nearing completion in Nsukka.
