The automotive sector with its tremendous value chains provide Nigeria a fast way towards industrialisation, Minister of State for Industry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Senator John Enoh has said.

Speaking at the unveiling of EV T6 buses by NEV Motors, Enoh said for the country to achieve economic growth and prosperity, she must get her “industrialisation right”.

The minister said electric vehicle is safe, promote green energy for clean environment, reliable, accessible and a sustainable means of mobility.

Enoh said, “Electric vehicles are the future, that future starts today. We must promote that future today and try to make sure that we achieve it. This unveiling begins that journey and that journey is going to be revolutionary and that journey will give us what we have been looking for.”

He wondered why a lot of Nigerians think that electric vehicle was possible and could not accommodate the idea but added what was required to make a success in life “is to start from the point of impossibility”.

He said Nigeria is a great country like India and China with a lot of advantage to derive from electric vehicles, adding “the rest of the world is waiting for Nigeria to get its auto sector right, and I think maybe the auto sector have been waiting for electric vehicles.”

Enoh said the National Automotive Design And Development Council (NADDC) industry development plan has milestones to increase local content of locally manufacture vehicles to about 40%, produce one million vehicles, and increase jobs available in the sector to about 200,000 and increase local production of electric vehicles by 30%.

The Minister of State said the FMITI is committed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s eight-point agenda, especially agenda seven which mandated the ministry to diversify the economy through industry, through digitization, through creative arts, through manufacturing and through innovation.

The Director-General, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Joseph Osanipin, called for the production of more vehicles that would be affordable for Nigerians.

He said, “For us in NADDC, we know that the path we are treading will lead us to sustainable mobility and we are working with relevant bodies to provide the needed infrastructure.”

Osanipin said the buses being unveiled were 100 per cent electric with zero emissions which signified good health for the environment.

The Chief Executive Officer of NEV Motors, Mosope Olaosebikan, said that unveiling of the electric buses was a demonstration of Nigeria’s readiness to adopt sustainable mobility solutions.

“There were doubts about whether EVs could work in Nigeria, but today we have proven that it is possible.

“This is not just about launching a vehicle; it is about launching a movement that positions Nigeria as a leader in clean transportation,” he said.