Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has test driven a locally assembled electric car, Hyundai Kona, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Osinbajo drove the car while on exhibition tour of made-in-Nigeria products at the opening ceremony of a 5-day Nigeria @ 60 Expo being held at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
The event is organised by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Nigeria @ 60 in collaboration with Business Visa and Training Co Limited.
Speaking with the newsmen afterwards, Osinbajo expressed excitement at the innovation and said he was hopeful of a bright future for Nigeria.
“A very good drive; fantastic; it just shows what is possible. I am glad to see that this is an assembled in Nigeria electric car.
“You can literally charge it anywhere; I think it is a very fantastic innovation; fantastic product, and I can tell because I drove it,” he said.
Earlier, in his keynote address, Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the event was aimed at showcasing what Nigeria could produce with local raw materials.
“To compliment the efforts of the Federal Government at ensuring that we produce what we eat and eat what we produce. In this context, we are to produce what we use and use what we produce,” he said.
In a virtual goodwill message, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organisation, commended the organisers for their efforts to showcase the growth of Nigeria’s Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
Mixed reactions trail made-in-Nigeria electric car
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, drove a made-in-Nigeria electric car on Tuesday, evoking reactions from Nigerians on social media. The Presidency shared a video of Osinbajo driving a locally assembled electric car, referred to as ‘Kona’.
He drove the car during the Made-in-Nigeria exhibition event at Eagle Square, Abuja.
The caption of the Facebook post read, “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo driving Kona, Nigerian made electric car, a moment ago, at Eagle Square, Abuja.
“With the VP are the DG (Director General) of the Nigeria Automotive Development Council, Jelani Aliyu, and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adebayo.”
Nigerians took to the comment section to share their thoughts on the development.
While some users lauded the government for the innovation, others faulted the development.
Momoh Iya’a commented , “Great one. Let the Federal Government quickly make electricity more stable in Nigeria.”
Another user, Mallam Ibrahim, also commented “What a great innovation! I suggest there should be mass production of such vehicles.”
Israel Ahmadu commented, “Wow. This is absolutely amazing. We look forward to more innovations.”
Expressing concern, Paul Uchenna wrote, “I stand to be corrected. Is it a good business idea to jettison the use of petrol vehicles when our main source of revenue is crude oil? I know that we actually do not have a viable alternative source of revenue.”
Godwin Chibuikem commented, “We are not buying. Take it back to where it comes from. We don’t have electricity to charge it.”
In agreement, Aondover Solomon said, “Make electricity stable before manufacturing electric cars.”
“To buy an electric car in this country, you may need a generator and fuel in your boot,” Stan Mega commented.
