The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of the first batch of electric vehicles promised to civil servants as part of efforts to promote cleaner energy and reduce transportation costs across the country.

The Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Joseph Osanipin, disclosed this on Wednesday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

Osanipin said the delivery marked the beginning of the government's plan to expand access to electric vehicles while developing the infrastructure required to support alternative-energy transportation.

“Today, you must have heard in the news that the first batch of the electric vehicle that the President promised civil servants was delivered today, and they are all electric vehicles.

“This is the beginning of more and more that will come,” he said.

The NADDC boss also disclosed that electric vehicle infrastructure had been deployed in about 16 universities across the country to support the development of an electric vehicle ecosystem.

He said the impact of government policies promoting electric vehicles and Compressed Natural Gas would become more evident as investments in supporting infrastructure increased.

According to Osanipin, the transition to alternative fuels could not be achieved through policy alone, as facilities such as filling stations, mobile refill units and gas production plants were also required.

“You can’t put a policy in place today and start having the immediate impact,” he said.

He noted that the government’s CNG initiative had attracted increased private-sector participation, with the number of companies licensed to retail gas reportedly rising from about four to 81.

“As at the time I was discussing with the agency in charge of that, I was told that as of today they have licensed about 81 firms that are into retailing of gas.

“So, which means we are making progress in that regard. When you realise that we had about four before and now we have this, gas is now more available in some states,” Osanipin said.

He also cited the experience of a traveller whose fuel expenses reportedly dropped from more than N200,000 to about N40,000 after switching to CNG and refilling in Kano.

Osanipin said the development indicated that CNG was becoming increasingly accessible outside major commercial centres, with more companies investing in the sector.

However, he acknowledged concerns that some commercial transport operators benefiting from lower CNG costs had yet to transfer the savings to commuters through reduced fares.

He said the next phase of the government's intervention would focus on ensuring that the benefits of cheaper alternative fuels translated into lower transportation costs for Nigerians.

“We have a lot that are already doing it; fleet operators are already benefiting from this.

“So what we are pushing for again... is that I have seen a lot of people benefiting from it, but they refuse to transfer the price to the masses.

“That is going to be the next stage. But we just want to make sure that all the infrastructure and everything is coming. Then we now see enforcement of some of these policies,” he said.

Osanipin said his meeting with President Tinubu also focused on developments in Nigeria's automotive sector, ongoing investments and progress on draft legislation being prepared for the industry.

He said the proposed legislation would strengthen the sector's policy and regulatory framework, attract more investment and accelerate the development of Nigeria's automotive industry.