NEDC plans 10,330 electric vehicles for North-East to cut transport costs

The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) is planning to roll out 10,330 electric vehicles across the six states of the North-East, starting with a first phase whose success will decide whether the programme expands.

The plan covers 10,000 electric tricycles, 300 electric taxis and 30 electric buses, and is being done with Attahir Enterprises Nigeria Limited. The commission took the plan to stakeholders in Bauchi at a two-day workshop that ended on Friday, themed “Powering the North-East: Embracing Electric Mobility for a Cleaner, Smarter and Prosperous Future.”

Transport operators, security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society groups attended.

What it means for transport costs

The NEDC's Bauchi State Coordinator, Aliyu Isiyaku, said the project is meant to give residents affordable, safer and more environmentally friendly transport. He said it should also create jobs for young people and cut carbon emissions.

Petrol is a big burden on operators. The zonal chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Abdullahi Muhammad, put the pump price at about ₦1,460 per litre. Electric vehicles, he said, would not need petrol, though charging and maintenance costs remain.

The Chief Executive Officer of Attahir Enterprises, Umar Abacha, said the vehicles can travel up to 300 kilometres on a full charge. Buses and taxis will work mainly in urban centres, supported by three charging points, while tricycles go to local government areas. Each tricycle comes with two charging units so operators can charge at home.

Abacha said the vehicles will be handed to state governments, which will distribute them to beneficiaries who must be trained before operating them.

Unions want a say in sharing

Transport unions welcomed the plan but asked the commission to share the vehicles through recognised associations rather than political structures. They warned that political selection could mean the wrong people get them.

The Bauchi NURTW chairman, Ismail Abubakar, said working with unions would help the vehicles reach genuine operators. The state's motorcycle and tricycle operators' chairman, Bala Dauda, also pledged support.

Muhammad of RTEAN urged clear rules on use and maintenance, fair spread across Bauchi's three senatorial zones, and monitoring so the vehicles stay in commercial service. He said beneficiaries should not treat them as “their share of the national cake.”

The District Head of Shafa, Lawal Mohammed, promised that traditional rulers would help create awareness in communities.

The Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association also pledged to keep the vehicles properly maintained through qualified technicians.

What happens next: The commission says the first phase will be watched closely before any wider deployment. No start date or cost for the programme was given at the workshop.