By Theodore Opara

Nigeria must move beyond policy announcements and urgently implement a coordinated six-point roadmap to turn growing interest in electric vehicles (EVs) into mass adoption, Metropolitan Electric Limited has said.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Olugbenga Obadina, made the call during his presentation 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.

Obadina said Nigeria had reached a critical turning point in its transition to electric mobility, arguing that the immediate challenge was no longer the formulation of policies but their coordinated implementation across government agencies.

According to him, the country has already put several building blocks for EV adoption in place, including the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) 2023–2033, 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; and government initiatives covering EV procurement, charging infrastructure, standards, recycling and skills development.

However, Obadina warned that these measures would not automatically translate into a functioning mass market unless government agencies worked together to reduce the uncertainty and costs confronting 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.

He noted that inconsistent tariffs, customs-related delays and demurrage costs could undermine investment in the sector, stressing that investors needed predictable rules, long-term naira financing, clear charging permits and tariffs, as well as measurable local-content requirements.

“Investors price execution certainty, not policy intention,” he said.

Six-point EV Compact
To transform the current momentum into mass adoption, Metropolitan Electric proposed what it described as a six-point “Nigeria EV Compact.”

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’s third recommendation is to “finance kilometres, not cars” through a naira-denominated green mobility facility, credit guarantees and multi-year leasing arrangements.

It also called for charging infrastructure to be treated as regulated infrastructure, with standardised permits, service levels and transparent tariffs.

The fifth recommendation is for Nigeria to pursue performance-based localisation, with incentives tied not merely to vehicle assembly but also to production, quality, job creation, components, research and development, and exports.

Finally, the company urged government and industry stakeholders to build consumer and investor confidence through technician certification, transparent warranty disclosure, battery-health standards and clear end-of-life rules for batteries.

Obadina said the objective should not be to sustain EV adoption through permanent subsidies, but to create a market capable of attracting finance, 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
Rather than attempting to replicate the private-car-led EV transition seen in wealthier countries, Obadina advised Nigeria to start with vehicles that clock high daily mileage.

He identified buses, logistics vehicles, institutional fleets, as well as two- and three-wheelers, as the most strategic entry points because their intensive utilisation would allow charging infrastructure and vehicle investments to generate returns faster.

He said charging infrastructure should consequently be planned around actual depots, routes and daily driving patterns rather than being deployed without consideration for vehicle utilisation.

The Metropolitan Electric CEO also 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 challenged policymakers, investors and journalists to measure the EV transition by actual performance rather than announcements.

He urged stakeholders to focus on the number of EVs operating daily, cost per kilometre, charging uptime, warranty performance, and who bears the risks associated with batteries, financing and recycling.
“Count what operates, not what is announced,” he said, adding that Nigeria’s EV future must be “engineered, assembled, financed, charged and maintained here.”

If you want, I can also give it a more punchy newspaper style, with a stronger intro/lead and tighter paragraphs for publication.