Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, test drove the country’s first locally assembled electric car, Hyundai Kona, in Abuja. This is coming after the electric vehicle, which is a product of Stallion Motors, was launched in November 2020, by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and unveiled in Abuja by the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Jelani Aliyu, in February 2021, in Abuja
According to NAN, the Vice President test drove the car during an 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. At the event, which is organised by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Nigeria @ 60 in collaboration with Business Visa and Training Co Ltd, Osinbajo expressed excitement at the innovation and said he was hopeful of a bright future for Nigeria.
Osinbajo at the event said, “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.’’ On his part, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the event was aimed at showcasing what Nigeria could produce with local raw materials.
He said “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 the use of Made-In-Nigeria products will attract several benefits for the country, help increase its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He noted that Nigerians now proudly use products made in the country and this will contribute to GDP growth and more employment opportunities.
