Wale Edun, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, has pledged to support indigenous vehicle assembly plants involved in the implementation of the Presidential initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.
The minister pledged the support during a visit to the Jet Motor Company assembly plant in Lagos at the weekend and assured Nigerians that the CNG vehicles would soon be rolled out to ease transport challenges in the country.
According to Edun, the visit enabled him to see that Jet Motor Company is producing the CNG buses promised by Mr President even as he commits to giving them including other local assembly plants involved in the project, the support needed to deliver on the Federal Government CNG vehicles initiative.
“The vehicles are assembled here, which speaks to local addition, job creation, growing the economy and reducing poverty,” he said.
Edun said the visit offered him the opportunity to see the electric, CNG and biofuel vehicles being assembled by Jet Motor locally.
“I have come to see what is happening with the CNG Initiative. I have seen, driven and tested the buses that are being assembled here. Shortly, they will be rolled out for the benefit of Nigerians because the initiative will reduce transportation costs,” he said.
Edun commended the management of Jet Motor Company for their contribution towards the expansion of local automotive production capacity.
Highlighting Jet Motors’ dedication to employing local talent which underscored their belief in empowering communities and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity, he assured the auto company of continued government support.
The minister’s visit to Jet Motors, one of the indigenous electric vehicle manufacturing plants in Nigeria, showcases the country’s capacity to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly vehicles.
It also provided an opportunity for the minister to engage with local producers, give support to the local industry, and build a broad-based partnership with key industry leaders.
Earlier, Chidi Ajaere, chairman of Jet Motor Company, said the automobile company can assemble both CNG, petrol and biofuel buses and can also convert petrol vehicles to CNG.
Also speaking, Derek Ewelukwa, managing director of Jet Motor Company, lauded the minister and his team for the honour done to the organisation by his visit.
He thanked the President Tinubu-led administration for its intentional efforts geared towards supporting local industries, particularly the automotive sector through direct interventions and the programmes executed by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC).
“We are proud to be an indigenous company. We have always wanted to prove that it was possible to do it here. To build and create value here. To export value from here. This is what we are doing,” he said.
Ewelukwa said the company recently began to invest in the production of CNG vehicles in line with the policy direction of the current government against the backdrop of reforms impacting the local energy market.
“We are an agile company; we will continue to adapt to new realities and expand our offerings within the clean energy niche of the mobility market,” he said.
On his part, Joseph Osanipin, director-general of NADDC, expressed joy that a truly indigenous company is accomplishing the vision of the agency through local automobile manufacturing.
“We have seen your efforts and are truly proud of all you are accomplishing in the market. This is what we have always worked towards, and even much more right now with our renewed efforts under this administration. Sustainable mobility is the future, and we will work closely with you and other indigenous automotive manufacturers to achieve this for Nigeria,” he said.
As a leader in indigenous auto manufacturing, Jet Motor Company specialises in building electric vehicles vans, pickups, and CNG as well as petrol buses tailored to meet Africa’s unique transportation needs.
