Energy Transition: Experts Urge Govt to Address Constraints to Private Sector Participation in E-Mobility Space 

*Say Nigeria needs $250bn annual investment in transport sector to meet SDGs.

Peter Uzoho and Oluchi Chibuzor

Stakeholders in the energy sector have urged the federal and state governments to formulate and implement favourable policies aimed at eliminating constraints affecting private sector participation in the emerging e-mobility sector.

They also projected that Nigeria would need over $250 billion annual investment in transport sector to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The stakeholders spoke yesterday in Lagos, at the first E-mobility stakeholders meeting in Lagos, organised by the Energy Transition Office in furtherance of the realisation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP).

They pointed out that the absence of a working policy remains a hindrance for the sector, adding that along with undeveloped value chain, absence of collaboration within the sector players and lack of incentives from the government were hampering the growth of the E-Mobility space.

Speaking at the session, Executive Vice President, Oando Clean Energy Limited, Mr. Ademola Ogunbanjo, said the government must consider the building of infrastructure needed to power climate friendly and bankable projects.

He explained that Oando Clean Energy had deployed over $2 million in Proof of Concept test for two Electric Vehicles (EVs) in order to gather data that would allow them to hit 2000 for Lagos and 12,000 for Nigeria.

“For us to import two EVs buses, we have to spend N80 million to clear it and this does not help the business. But we need a buffer to grow nascent sectors. We desire pioneer incentives for this and all of these make the cost go down so that what you passed on to the consumer will go down.

“I know my government is not cash-rich now but there are a lot of things that can be done. Our partnership with Lagos State Government is to ensure that EVs work and Nigerians embrace the culture of e-hailing through E-Mobility cars”, he said.

Principal Specialist, Budget and Multilateral Financing, Energy Transition Office, Mr. Alfred Okoh, said the event would help participants to dissect all issues affecting the sector.

He said enabling the Net Zero pathway required $1.9 trillion spending up to 2060, including $410 billion above business-as-usual spending, which he noted translates to about $10 billion per annum.

Highlighting the current barriers to electric mobility, Head of Sustainable Energy Access, Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP), Olumide Fatoki, said as a market enabler, his firm would continue to work with governments in adoption of standards and policies.

Fatoki, also said there must be synergy among government efforts to avoid parallel efforts.

He specifically projected that Nigeria would need over $250 billion annual investment in the transport sector to meet some SDG.

Fatoki explained, “Lack of data and literature for electric mobility are still prevalent though the situation is improving. Financing mandates are at times restricted to specific sectors (eg energy OR transport), however important to consider that has cross-sectoral impacts and benefits. 

“Investment gap of private investment in the transport sector required to meet SDGs amounts to approximately $250 billion annually, and success of entrepreneur-led solutions in e-mobility is highly dependent on public infrastructure developed particularly in electricity access and reliability. 

“Some governments lack legally binding, long-term mobility targets, and consistent legal and regulatory frameworks “

Group Head, Renewable Energy and Mobility, Sterling Bank, Olabanjo Alimi, said the best way to stimulate the transport and E-mobility industry was to actively play in the sector and enable. 

On the infrastructure side, Chief Technical Officer, Ikeja Electric, Olajide Kumapayi, said the new Electricity Act would solve the issues of generation and distribution.

“There is a need to understand the kind of infrastructure demand needed for the sector in terms of electricity demand. But gradually, there is a need to build confidence in the sectors and we must start co-creation and co-plan to mitigate distribution at charging stations across the demand areas,” Kumapayi said.