Nigeria must move beyond electric vehicle policy announcements to coordinated implementation if it is to achieve mass adoption of electric mobility, the Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Electric Limited, Olugbenga Obadina, has said.
Obadina made the call at the 3rd Nigeria Auto Industry Summit, organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in conjunction with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in Lagos.
He said Nigeria had reached a critical stage in its electric vehicle transition, stressing that the major challenge was no longer policy formulation but effective coordination and execution across government agencies.
According to him, several building blocks for EV adoption are already in place, including the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) 2023 to 2033, which targets a 30 per cent local EV production share and 40 per cent local content.
He also cited the zero-rating of VAT on EVs and semi-knocked-down assembly parts under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, the reported reduction of EV import duty from five per cent to zero under the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, as well as government initiatives covering EV procurement, charging infrastructure, standards, recycling and skills development.
However, Obadina warned that the measures would not automatically create a viable mass market unless government agencies worked together to reduce the uncertainty and costs facing operators and investors.
“The policy pieces are largely in place. What is needed now is to connect them, with coordination and execution across agencies”, he said.
Six-Point EV Roadmap
To convert the current momentum into mass adoption, Metropolitan Electric proposed a six-point “Nigeria EV Compact” focused on policy stability, demand creation, financing, infrastructure, local production and consumer confidence.
The first recommendation is the publication of a stable 10-year EV roadmap under a single coordinating body with sufficient authority to align the activities of relevant government agencies.
The second is the creation of anchor demand through progressively higher EV procurement quotas for government fleets and public transportation.
The company also recommended financing mechanisms that prioritise vehicle utilisation rather than outright vehicle ownership through a naira-denominated green-mobility facility, credit guarantees and multi-year leasing arrangements.
It further called for charging infrastructure to be treated as regulated infrastructure, supported by standardised permits, defined service levels and transparent tariffs.
The fifth recommendation is performance-based localisation, with incentives linked not only to vehicle assembly but also to production, quality, job creation, component manufacturing, research and development and exports.
The final recommendation focuses on strengthening consumer and investor confidence through technician certification, transparent warranty disclosure, battery-health standards and clear end-of-life regulations for batteries.
Obadina said Nigeria’s objective should not be to sustain EV adoption through permanent subsidies but to build a bankable market capable of attracting investment, supporting local production and eventually competing without extraordinary government support.
“The objective is not permanent subsidy. It is a bankable market that scales, localises and eventually competes”, he said.
Put Fleets Before Private Cars
Obadina advised Nigeria against attempting to replicate the private-car-led EV transition adopted in wealthier economies, arguing that the country should first target vehicles with high daily mileage.
He identified buses, logistics vehicles, institutional fleets, as well as two- and three-wheelers as strategic entry points because their intensive utilisation could enable charging infrastructure and vehicle investments to generate returns more quickly.
He said charging infrastructure should consequently be planned around actual depots, routes and daily driving patterns rather than deployed without consideration for vehicle utilisation.
The Metropolitan Electric boss pointed to the company’s operations as evidence that electric mobility can work in Nigeria when the ecosystem is properly coordinated.
Since 2023, the company has supplied, deployed and maintained more than 200 EVs, with another 150 units ordered. It has also deployed more than 6MW of charging infrastructure and operates in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Port Harcourt and Kaduna.
Obadina urged policymakers, investors and journalists to assess Nigeria’s EV transition based on measurable outcomes rather than policy announcements.
He said key indicators should include the number of EVs operating daily, cost per kilometre, charging uptime, warranty performance and how risks associated with batteries, financing and recycling are being managed.
“Count what operates, not what is announced,” he said, stressing that Nigeria’s EV future must be “engineered, assembled, financed, charged and maintained here”.