FG inspects electric vehicles assembly plant in Borno

The Federal Government of Nigeria has inspected the progress of an electric vehicle assembly plant in Maiduguri, Borno State, which is set to produce 10,000 vehicles for distribution across the six North-East states. The inspection, led by the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, focused on the assembly of electric buses, tricycles, and taxis, which will also be supported by charging infrastructure.

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We have visited the e-vehicles assembly plant, under the management of the North-East Development Commission. These are projects approved by the Federal Executive Council.

Momoh expressed strong satisfaction with the project's advancement, noting that nearly all 10,000 planned electric vehicles and tricycles are on-site and undergoing assembly. He highlighted that the project, approved by the Federal Executive Council and managed by the North-East Development Commission, is a tangible realization of the administration's transformation agenda. The minister believes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be pleased with the project's tangible progress.

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From what we have seen today, I can say that I am very much impressed because nearly all the 10,000 e-vehicles and tricycles are on the ground. They are already assembling them.

Beyond providing transportation solutions for both rural and urban areas in the North-East, the initiative is expected to generate substantial employment. Momoh stated that the assembly process itself has already created jobs, with projections indicating that at least 100,000 individuals could benefit from employment opportunities related to the assembly of the 10,000 vehicles. This aligns with the administration's focus on youth empowerment and economic development.

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I have been told that all those e-vehicles are going to all the six states in the North-East and by the time they get there, apart from the fact that it will help to improve the movement of people, it will also create jobs.

In conjunction with the electric vehicle project, the ministry also inspected rural road projects in the region. Momoh emphasized the synergistic relationship between improved road networks and the deployment of these new vehicles, particularly the tricycles, which are designed for both passenger transport and agricultural produce. He stressed that the road improvements, such as those seen along the Ngwom/Kushebe/Gadamari axis, are crucial for the effective utilization of the electric vehicles and the overall development of the region.

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The e-vehicles and the road we inspected are interlinked. Most of the tricycles that we saw today are like minibuses, you can use them to carry both passengers and agricultural produce.