Fakoyejo Olalekan
Oando Clean Energy (OCEL), largely owned by Wale Tinubu, has taken delivery of electric buses from Chinese carmaker, Yutong Bus, as the company enters the transportation business in Lagos State.
Oando Plc is adding the deployment of mass transit to its portfolio through its subsidiary, OCEL. To enter the transport business, OCEL and Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe company’s transportation business will comprise only electric mass transit buses, as Tinubu plans to help Lagos State transition from the current combustion mass transit buses.
OCEL disclosed the delivery of the electric buses in a corporate document filed with the capital market authority, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Although the company didn’t reveal the number of electric buses it took delivery of, Tinubu’s firm plans to add 12,000 electric mass transit buses in Lagos State’s transportation business.
In the statement written to shareholders and the capital market, Tinubu said: “Audacity and innovation have always been key tenets in our journey to transform Nigeria’s energy future. It’s this spirit that has brought us to this juncture today – at the forefront of propelling Nigeria towards realizing her netzero targets.
“The arrival of our electric mass transit buses and development of an EV infrastructure ecosystem is a reminder that the only way to remain ahead of the curve is by being unafraid to break new ground and consistently looking for opportunities to leapfrog.
“Furthermore, this project underscores the African saying, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ Public-Private Partnerships have been critical to getting the project to this point and will continue to fuel our expansion across the entire country.
“I must commend the collaborative efforts of the Lagos State Government through LAMATA in seeing this project through. The commencement of this project gives us a platform to showcase to other States what is possible and open the door for engagements on bespoke solutions to suit their local needs as well as act as a model to be adopted by other organizations looking to venture into sustainable transportation.”
