Oando Clean Energy (OCEL) has increased the electric buses it is deploying from 50 to 100.
The company made the announcement at the ongoing Conference of the Parties (COP28) Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirate.
OCEL is subsidiary of Oando Energy Resources (OER), the upstream division of Oando PLC (the Oando Group of Companies).
With 100 buses the company will be matching the 100-bus plan unfolded by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier at the summit.
The electric buses, according to the company will be distributed with 50 in Lagos and 50 others spread across Cross River, Kaduna, Edo states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
On May 24, OCEL launched its Sustainable Transport initiative with a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) in collaboration with Lagos State through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
At a side event in the Nigeria pavilion, the company’s Executive Vice President (EVP), Ademola Ogunbanjo, spoke of the successful completion of the 90-day PoC phase. During the PoC, we rolled out two electric mass transit buses, and they ploughed four (4) routes covering over 43,800 kilometres, carrying over 73,000 passengers, saving bus operators 21,000 litres of diesel and mitigating 57.8 tons in CO2 emissions within the State. He said that the company’s Sustainable Transport initiative is now being progressed to a pilot phase of 50 buses and 2,000 buses at full rollout for Lagos State.
This action directly supports the announcement made by the President during the Nigeria Carbon Market and Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the summit. The President explained that this strategic initiative of his administration in rolling out 100 electric buses aims to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernise the country’s transportation systems. A position that Oando has advocated and demonstrated over the last year.
Recognizing the critical role of private sector players in the country’s energy transition journey, the Director General, National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) Dr Salisu Dahiru said at a COP28 side event “It’s heart warming to see that some of the key players in the oil and gas industry are even ahead of Government. Oando is ahead of everybody, we want to see their approach replicated by other private sector players, and on the part of Government we will deliver the conducive environment that will allow the private sector to thrive.”
President / CEO Oando Clean Energy Dr Ainojie Irune said: “Through our partnership with Lagos State we led the scaling up of sustainable mass transit solutions in the country. Our strategic ambition was to use Lagos State as a launch pad and eventually roll out nationwide. A year in, we have realised a successful PoC and seen buy-in at a national scale via the Federal Government’s public commitment to purchase 100 electric buses. We are proud to be at the forefront of Sustainable Transport in Nigeria and delighted to support the efforts of Federal Government by matching their commitment to deploy 100 electric buses for the country. We are particularly elated that the Government is aligned with Oando’s strategic vision in creating a clean and eco-friendly transportation system for Nigerians.”
-Thenation
