… assembly plants will provide skills dev, enterprise for youths – Alkali
The Federal Government, through the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), has announced plans to roll out 10,000 electric vehicles and charging stations across the region’s states to create employment opportunities for young people, encourage technology transfer, and strengthen the emerging electric mobility ecosystem.
Abubakar Momoh, the Minister of Regional Development, responding to journalists shortly after the project inspection in Maiduguri, said when completed, the electric vehicles comprising buses, tricycles and taxis with charging infrastructure
will serve people in rural and urban communities across the region.
He stressed that he inspected the progress of the ongoing assembly of 10, 000 electric vehicles meant for distribution to the six Northeast states in Maiduguri, the Borno
state capital.
He said, “We have visited the E-vehicles assembling plant, under the management of the North East Development Commission. These are projects approved by the Federal Executive Council
“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 ground. They are already assembling them.
“We have also seen several e-taxis and buses. We are very much impressed. For me, I think we are not disappointed, and I am sure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will also be very happy to see that this project has actually seen the light of day,” he stated.
According to him, the project will create job opportunities for youths during and after its unveiling across the Northeast region.
“I have been told that all those E-vehicles are going to all six states in the Northeast, 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”, he stated.
“Take a look at the assembling process; even before the commissioning, jobs have been created. Our people assemble the vehicles.
“When I ask the Director of Operations, he said before they complete the 10, 000 target, at least we must have catered for not less than 100,000 people who will get jobs in the assembling process. This is the transformation that this administration is talking about,” he maintained.
Mohmoh said that, in addition to the vehicles, other rural road projects inspected by the ministry will serve a complementary purpose.
“The e-vehicles and the road we inspected are inter-linked. Most of the tricycles that we saw today are like minibuses; you can use them to carry both passengers and agricultural produce,” he stressed.
“Let me say it in clear terms that from the very first project we visited, which is the Ngwom / Kushebe / Gadamari axis, to Gongulong, we have seen tremendous improvement on that road corridor,” the Minister emphasised.
He, however, urged the leadership of the North East Development Commission to ensure that rural dwellers are not excluded from the e-vehicle distribution chain upon completion.
“I am using this opportunity to appeal to the Managing Director of NEDC that in distribution, he should make sure that in the corridor of the new roads, the people there should be catered for because they need these machines to be able to evacuate their products from their area to the city centre”, he said.
Following the Minister’s visit to the ongoing construction of the headquarters of the Northeast Development Commission in Maiduguri, he expressed satisfaction with the pace of work, assuring that it will be completed iwithin18 to 24 months.
He said, “And here we are today, the office of the headquarters of the Northeast Development Commission. When we were here last year, I was just at the basement level. Today, the basement is complete,, and one section of the building is already underway.
“The contractors have assured us that, plus or minus, with adequate flow of funds, that in the next 18 to 24 months, this project will see the light of the day”, he stated.
The Minister commended the North East Development Commission for its commitment to delivering on its mandate in rebuilding the region after over a decade of insurgency.
“In all, I want to commend the Management and the board of the NEDC for what they have done so far. Now that we are already making progress, we may need to identify other areas where they think we can make a greater impact, because that is what the administration of Mr President is all about. His priority is connecting villages with roads,” He noted.
Mohammed Alkali, managing director of the NEDC, said, “The project aligns directly with the provisions and strategic direction of the North-East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan (NESDMP), particularly its pillars of Protected Environment, Purposeful Infrastructure, including transportation, and Connected Region.
‘Through the promotion of electric mobility and the establishment of local assembly capacity, the project contributes to a cleaner and more sustainable environment, provides innovative transportation infrastructure, strengthens connectivity across the region, and creates opportunities for skills development, enterprise and employment.
“The progress recorded reflects the commitment of the Commission, the project team, engineers, contractors and other stakeholders to delivering the project in accordance with the required standards and specifications,”Alkali stated.
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