Innovative governance: X-raying Ogun’s transportation initiatives

BY AKIN AKINYEMI

Transportation is one of the fundamentals of development, and access to it remains pivotal to the growth of the economic and social derivatives of any strategic effort aimed at bringing about the kind of expansion and progress that the present administration under the leadership of Prince Dapo Abiodun is working assiduously to entrench in Ogun State. From time immemorial, parameters that guarantee effective transportation in all evolving societies have defined the extent to which such societies advance in all developmental spheres, whether it be with respect to diplomacy, trade and commerce, investment opportunities, or the attraction of would-be investors, among others.

First, the State Government, recognizing the importance of a good road network as a veritable imperative of durable transportation, embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of roads throughout the State. This has led to the construction and rehabilitation of more than 600 kilometers of roads throughout its nooks and crannies. With a vibrant collaboration with the Federal and Local tiers of Government, rural roads are being opened up, particularly with the support of the Rural Agricultural Access Mobility Programme (RAAMP). This aims to ensure easier movement of produce from farms to markets.

Furthermore, the creation of a full-fledged Ministry of Transportation, from the now-defunct Bureau of Transportation, represented another step in a series of structural realignments embarked upon by the State Governor, geared towards the commencement of initiatives that would help engender a systematic transport mechanism in our State.

Then, the government embarked on the very bold initiative of constructing the Agro-cargo airport in Iperu, a feat achieved in record time, with regular commercial flights expected to commence anytime soon. As all necessary preparations continue to take shape for the commencement of commercial flights, allied structures such as an agro-processing zone, a housing estate, and offices of line agencies such as Immigration and Customs, along with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, are being constructed, leading to the establishment of an aerotropolis in our state.

The State Government, responding to the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government as part of the economic reforms put in place by President Bola Tinubu, contracted foreign technocrats to convert some of the Government-owned automobiles from fuel-combusted engines to natural gas. By this, Ogun State became the first to introduce CNG-enabled vehicles into its fleet. Since then, the workers’ bus and a host of vehicles plying the intra-state corridors are being run on Compressed Natural Gas.

When the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, was commissioning the CNG vehicles, he pledged the introduction of electrically powered automobiles into the State transport architecture. Tagging this “The State E-Mobility Programme,” it was positioned as a means of lessening the burden of cost to commuters, owing to the high cost of fuel. Much more, however, it has become extremely desirable due to its environmentally friendly potential, thereby mitigating the negative effects of fossil fuels on the state ecosystem, thus reducing its impact on climate change.

On Wednesday, the 31st of July, Prince Abiodun officially launched e-bikes and tricycles under the Ogun State E-Mobility Programme. This launch, at the Governor’s Office Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, represented the introduction of the first phase of 2,000 electric motorcycles by the State Government in its resolve to make life more bearable for citizens of the State, thus mitigating the impact of the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

Apart from the foregoing, it is hoped that the programme would reduce the cost of transportation while bringing about a cleaner environment by reducing carbon emissions.

Launching the Programme, Prince Abiodun affirmed that E-Mobility heralded another milestone in his commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the State’s socio-economic development. He stated that the investment would be in three phases: “beginning with phase one, focusing on our e-Okada bike assembly; phase two with the tricycles; and phase three with our e-vehicles, providing 10,000 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect jobs for assembly line operators.”

Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to mitigating the impact of the subsidy removal, which has understandably led to the high cost of diesel fuel, he stated that he would do all he can to ensure the reduction of transportation costs for citizens. The Governor opined that he had led the country in the energy transition agenda, being the first state to launch and deploy Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses on the Mass Transit Bus routes.

Reiterating the successful conversion of buses from fuel to Compressed Natural Gas by his administration, the Governor announced the current deployment of these buses on the Ita-Oshin-Adatan route in Abeokuta, Mowe-Ibafo to Lagos, and other routes, serving residents in these corridors and drastically reducing transportation fares.

“We will be launching about 2,000 e-bikes for the first phase. These commercial motorbikes can ride up to 75-80 kilometers on a full charge, while the vehicles can go up to 200 kilometers, thereby reducing transportation costs by 40 percent.

“Our aim is to reduce our carbon footprint and bring about a significant change in how we think about the transportation of our daily lives. This aligns with our energy transformation programme for a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations.”

“Through this launch of electric bikes, tricycles, vehicles, motorcycles, and battery swap stations at specific points, we are not just introducing a new mode of transportation; we are pioneering a movement towards a cleaner, more efficient, and technologically advanced way of life.”

In the meantime, it can be worrying to observe that one of the greatest potential challenges posed by the introduction of new policies or programmes into the Nigerian socio-political landscape is that of sustainability. An astute businessman such as Prince Abiodun has never lost sight of this, recognizing it as an important component of success in his programme agenda for the State’s development. This acumen has already found expression in the idea of an aerotropolis in Iperu, implying the development of a city with the airport being its centerpiece.

In the same vein, the Governor, in launching the e-bikes and electric tricycles, announced the groundbreaking of a new facility named Giga Facility at the Special Agro Processing Zone located at Iperu-Remo. In making this announcement, the Governor stated that the facility, with a total investment sum of 40 million dollars, would be an assembly plant for electric bikes, two-wheelers, tricycles, commercial buses, electric cars, and swap stations.

Happily, the launch was witnessed by the Minister of Transportation, Senator Seidu Alkali, indicating the significance of the event as an epoch-making one. Understandably, the Minister lauded Ogun for being the first State to launch such a programme, adding that it had joined other African countries currently utilizing more than 15,000 e-bikes as part of their transport architecture. Asserting that apart from the fact that the programme would revolutionize the transportation sector in the state, it would also provide alternative means of fuel and reduce costs. Senator Alkali, therefore, urged other state governments to take a cue from Ogun in partnering with the Federal Government in CNG usage. He also called on members of the public to support the programme, which is guaranteed to create jobs while making transportation cheaper, more efficient, and eco-friendly.

Coming as a follow-up to the conversion of mass transit to CNG buses last year, towards addressing the increase in transportation fares occasioned by subsidy removal, the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the State, through the introduction of electric bikes and electric tricycles, in addition to other important strategic policies and programmes, is slowly but surely demonstrating a firm commitment to a sustainable revolution in the transportation sector, which will overtime further entrench its status as the nation’s investment destination of choice for the proletariat, bourgeois, and perhaps the elite as well.

Akin Akinyemi is a Civil Servant writing from Abeokuta.

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