Lagos unveils 11 electric buses, targets 552

New electric buses. Photo credit: LAMATA

The Lagos State Government has unveiled 11 new electric buses as part of efforts to expand cleaner public transportation across the state.

This was announced in a statement shared by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority on its social media accounts on Tuesday.

The buses, provided by Oando Clean Energy Limited under the regulation of LAMATA, represent the first batch of a 50-bus commitment under the current phase of the partnership.

The initiative, which began with two pilot electric buses deployed in 2023, is expected to pave the way for the eventual introduction of 552 electric buses across Lagos public transport corridors.

Speaking at the presentation, the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said the transition to cleaner energy was essential to meeting the transportation needs of Lagos as its population and economic activities continued to expand.

He said the state government recognised that “the future of transportation must be anchored on sustainability, energy efficiency, innovation and environmental responsibility.”

Osiyemi added that Lagos was pursuing a gradual reduction in carbon emissions in line with the state’s net-zero ambitions by 2050.

The Managing Director of LAMATA, Abimbola Akinajo, described the presentation as evidence of progress achieved through sustained collaboration between the state government and its private-sector partners.

She said electric buses offered significant environmental advantages, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and lower noise pollution, while supporting the development of a sustainable urban transport system.

Akinajo said, “The partnership with Oando is translating a shared vision for cleaner transportation into practical results,” adding that the deployment would strengthen efforts to modernise public transport operations in Lagos.

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Also speaking, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Oando Clean Energy Limited, Ademola Ogunbanjo, described the initiative as “a defining moment in the evolution of electric mobility in Nigeria and Africa.”

He said the project went beyond introducing electric buses, explaining that it represented the foundation of a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transportation ecosystem that could be replicated across the country and the continent.

Ogunbanjo recalled that the partnership between LAMATA and Oando began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2022, followed by the deployment of two pilot electric buses in 2023.

He said the period between the pilot deployment and the latest presentation was devoted to testing the technology, evaluating its operational resilience, assessing its environmental impact and gauging public acceptance.

According to him, the experience and data gathered during the period provided the foundation for moving from proof-of-concept operations to larger-scale deployment.

Beyond supplying electric buses, Ogunbanjo said Oando was working towards establishing a comprehensive domestic electric mobility ecosystem comprising charging infrastructure, maintenance facilities, technical manpower development, spare-parts supply chains and, ultimately, local vehicle assembly.

He added that the initiative was supported by financial and technical partners, including the Bank of Industry, Wema Bank and Yutong, with prospective funding partnerships involving the Africa Finance Corporation and the International Finance Corporation.

Expressing confidence in the project’s potential, Ogunbanjo said, “If it can work in Lagos, it can work anywhere in Nigeria. The future of mobility is electric, and that future is already taking shape here in Lagos.”

The additional buses are expected to provide further operational experience for the expansion of electric mobility across the state and support Lagos’ broader climate action and sustainable development objectives.