Ogun Begins Conversion Of Buses, Motorcycles, Tricycles To Gas, Electricity, August

ABEOKUTA – Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Monday, July 3, 2023, disclosed that the E-mobility and Gas Mobility Programme of the state will take off in the first week of August this year.

The governor also said that his administration would take advantage of the newly signed electricity bill that regulates the power sector by establishing a company that would generate and distribute power supply in the Gateway State.

Prince Abiodun spoke when he received participants of the Senior Executive Course 45, Group 1, of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, who came on a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

He said that his administration would, in its second term, focus on the provision of public utilities, which include water and electricity supply.

The e-mobility and gas mobility involves the conversion of mass transit buses from petroleum fuel to gas and motorcycles (Okada) to electric.

The governor said the topic of the visit; “Industrialization, Climate change and Energy Security in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, aligned with his administration’s transition objectives.

He said: “I am proud to say that in Ogun State, we have put in measures and plans to begin an energy transition plan and we are going to start converting all our state buses to begin to run on CnG; that program has already commenced and we are actually going to launch what we call our our E-mobility and Gas Mobility Programme sometime around the end of this month or first week in August.

“The gas mobility is that which we convert not just our buses to operate on gas, but all mass transit will begin to operate on gas and our E-mobility is a program that will make for all our motorcycles and tricycles to run on electricity. They will be battery-powered. We are going to launch that program either last week of this month or first week of next month.

“We will take the motorcycles from the riders and give them electric powered motorcycles, this program will have a cushion effect on what our masses are currently experiencing and besides that, it will begin a new phase of dispensation of clean energy which speaks to the issue of climate change.”

The governor also said that Ogun State is planning to generate its own electricity, following the signing of the 2023 Electricity Bill into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 9, which empowers states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute power.

“We are going to take advantage of the constitutional amendment that has now removed power generation from the exclusive list and put it on the concurrent list.

“We will have our own generation company, state distribution company, and ensure that we can provide more power to our major towns and cities. Once we are able to do that, the grid can be sufficient for our small towns,” he said.

The governor also disclosed that his government has spent so much on the rehabilitation of water works across the state in its efforts at ensuring the availability of portable water to the populace.

He added: “On the issue of water, we have spent a lot of money on our water works. It will interest you to know that our water works from Ogun River, is what Lagos State depends on.

“We’ve invested a lot of money in our water works. What we need to do now is to be creative about reticulation and also provide water in all our major towns and cities.

“Those will be one of our focal areas so that we can ensure that we have sustainable towns and cities where we have electricity and water supply,” he said.

The governor noted that his administration’s vision on assuming office on May 29, 2019, was to create an enabling environment for Public Private Partnership as well as touching all the critical sectors of the State’s economy through the Infrastructure, Social Wellbeing, Education, Youth Empowerment and Agriculture (ISEYA) mantras.

As the industrial hub of the nation, Prince Abiodun said the issue of security was given the needed attention as modern security gadgets, training and welfare of security personnel working in the State was given priority, noting that this has paid off as the state is regarded as one of the most peaceful in the country.

The State helmsman, who assured that the airport currently under construction would be open for commercial activities in the next four months, also disclosed that a Dry Port that would allow industries to import and clear their goods without much troubles is being planned along the rail lines at Kajola.

Speaking earlier, the team leader and the Director of Studies, Prof. (Mrs.) Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam, said the participants are embarking on the study as mandated by the President to research on topical issues of national importance, saying Ogun State was selected as the result of it being the industrial capital of the country.

She said many indigenes of the State have passed through the Institute and are making their marks in both national and international arena.

Para-Mallam added that the institute did not make a mistake by choosing the State as part of its tour of study, acknowledging the achievements made by the present administration in all sectors of the economy.

The Senior Executive Course 45 Group 1 of the Institute is on a one-week study tour of the State.