Presidency urges nationwide expansion of electric vehicle initiatives

The Presidency of Nigeria has urged the nationwide expansion of electric vehicle initiatives, highlighting the potential for private-sector investments to complement federal government efforts to modernize the nation's transportation system. This call was made by the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Transportation and Mobility, Prince Adetokunbo Ade-John, at the launch of the ProTaxi e-hailing platform in Abuja on Thursday.

Ade-John praised Emmanuel Oloche, CEO of PromiseLand Innovation, for successfully deploying 1,000 electric vehicles, viewing this as a practical demonstration of Nigeria's commitment to modernizing its transportation and mobility infrastructure. He emphasized that both the government and private initiatives could collaborate to transform the transport sector, encouraging ProTaxi to continue and expand its efforts across the country.

The Federal Government is also planning to deploy electric buses and compressed natural gas-powered vehicles. Ade-John further urged Nigerians to support locally developed solutions, noting that Oloche had personally invested in the project. He expressed confidence in Oloche's initiative, stating that with a single individual's resources, there's no need for external investors.

PromisedLand Innovation conceived the ProTaxi platform as part of a broader strategy to leverage technology to generate economic opportunities, help drivers and their families move out of poverty, and provide an affordable transportation option through electric mobility. The company aims to expand its operations beyond Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of becoming a globally competitive African technology company.

Solomon Odeniyi, a journalist at Punch Newspapers, covered this story, emphasizing a commitment to development-oriented reporting and public interest journalism.