Nigeria’s Ogun State wants to lead the country’s EV revolution

One day in September, Bisi Alade rode past a long line of motorists at a fuel station in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. Two weeks earlier, Alade would have been stuck waiting in line with the other motorists. But not anymore — he’d traded his combustion motorcycle for an electric one.

A full charge of his SpiroiSpiroFounded by an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm in 2019, Spiro is an electric two-wheeler company that operates in Benin, Rwanda, Togo, and Uganda.READ MORE Commando electric motorcycle is enough to last him for a day and costs just 2,500 naira ($1.53) — half as expensive as fuel, the 42-year-old ride-hailing driver told Rest of World. The savings are significant because since May 2023, when the newly elected Nigerian president Bola Tinubu scrapped fuel subsidies, gas prices in the country have shot up by more than 450%. There are also persistent shortages.

“Life is easier now since I started riding an electric motorcycle,” Alade said. “I pity my friends who are still riding regular motorcycles.”

Alade is among the first wave of drivers to benefit from Ogun State’s push for EVs. In October last year, the state announced the E-Mobility Program, under which it plans to turn its public transportation system electric. This made Ogun State the first Nigerian state with an EV road map. Government officials, including Sa’idu Alkali, the transportation minister, and Mele Kyari, chief of state-owned oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited praised the effort.

“We are not just introducing a new mode of transportation; we are pioneering a movement towards a cleaner, more efficient, and technologically advanced way of life,” Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun said at the launch.

The initiative is good for decarbonization, but, for the best results, the program will need to pay close attention to how people adopt EVs in their everyday lives, Olusola Bamisile, an EV expert and researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, told Rest of World.

“The long-term success of programs like this depends on attention to detail,” he said, and how to make the bikes “a joy to citizens rather than a do-or-die policy for bike owners.”

The state has named African EV maker Spiro as a partner for the program. In July, it started the first phase: selling 2,000 Spiro Commando bikes to gig drivers in Abeokuta. Spiro has set up three battery-swapping stations in the city. Ogun State also introduced about 100 electric tricycles and buses that can travel up to 200 kilometers on a full charge. The state plans to build a $40 million assembly plant for EVs, including motorcycles, two-wheelers, tricycles, cars, and buses. The new factory will create more than 60,000 jobs.

When Rest of World visited Ogun State in September, EVs were gaining traction among residents. At least 25 people interviewed at different locations in Abeokuta said they had hired rides on the Spiro electric motorcycles. Some said they would be willing to jettison their fuel-powered vehicles if they had the means to purchase an EV.

“I will gladly park my car if I can get one of the electric bikes,” Kunle Adekola, a worker at a privately owned university in the state, told Rest of World. “This year, I’ve slept overnight at fuel stations twice during periods of acute scarcity.” 

“People stop me when I’m riding my e-bike on the streets and ask questions about how they can get [one] for themselves. The EV message is already spreading around,” Babatunde Jimoh, a Spiro technician, said. 

Busayo Victor, a Spiro agent at one of the battery-swap locations, told Rest of World he and his colleague service at least 20 drivers a day.

Babajide Jokotagba, a spokesperson for the Ogun State transport ministry, told Rest of World that the state is working with the delivery drivers’ union to deploy the Spiro bikes. More than 1,000 have already been deployed to gig drivers on hire purchase agreements. “Each e-bike is sold to interested gig riders — through the transport union — at prices from 1.4 million naira ($833) to 1.6 million naira ($952). A bank finances each purchase, and repayment is spread across 18 months,” he told Rest of World.

Spiro’s CEO Kaushik Burman said at the launch, “Our goal is to electrify mobility across Africa, and Nigeria, as Africa’s economic powerhouse, represents an important step on that journey.” He said Spiro plans to expand to seven other cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, Ibadan, and Abuja.

Ogun State’s EV adoption drive comes at a time when the Nigerian government is pushing for sustainable transportation across the country. The country has, through the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, committed to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2060. According to the plan, electric vehicles will constitute 60% of the total market by 2050 and 100% by 2060. The plan also includes mode-shift measures to encourage the transition from passenger cars to public transport and two- and three-wheelers by 2050.

Last May, at the time fuel subsidies were scrapped, the country’s National Automotive Design and Development Council announced the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan — designed to address decades of dependence on fossil fuel and set the country on the course of adopting clean energy for its auto industry. According to the plan, Nigeria targets at least 30% in local production of EVs by 2033. Key parts of the plan include financial incentives for EV manufacturers, such as reduced import duties and tax breaks.

Meanwhile, despite growing interest from citizens, there are significant obstacles to widespread EV growth in Nigeria. Nigeria lags behind other African countries when it comes to EV adoption and infrastructure. Nigeria is not yet among the top 10 African countries when it comes to EV adoption, according to a report by Indian research firm Mordor Intelligence. Leaders in the African EV market — worth $15.8 billion in 2024 and predicted to hit $25.4 billion by 2029 — include Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Bamisile, the EV researcher at Imperial College London, said the major drawback to EV adoption in Nigeria is the charging infrastructure. “The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about the EV adoption in Ogun was the epileptic electricity supply that has plagued the economic growth of Nigeria,” he said. “Nigeria is meant to be a pacesetter for EV adoption in Africa, considering its economy and population, and it is time for the country’s leaders to wake up and start doing the right things for the development of the country.” Bamisile suggests building more charging stations and boosting local EV manufacturing to drive down prices.

In January, Mosope Olaosebikan, the CEO of Nigerian e-mobility firm Possible EVs, talked about the challenges in Nigeria of inadequate infrastructure, unaffordability of the bikes, lack of local manufacturing and supply chains, and poor electricity supply, in an interview published on PossibleEVs.com. However, he said these could all be surmounted.

“A successful transition to EVs will require a lot of money that no one individual or entity can give. We need synergy. Government entities, private companies, universities, and international partners need to work together. Such collaborations can improve project financing and facilitate knowledge transfer, skill development, and technology exchange,” he said in the interview.

Alade said that since switching to an e-bike, he has been getting more passengers and making more money.

“There was a lady visiting Ogun State who I drove on the bike some days ago,” he said. “She was wowed by the quietness of the bike. She said she couldn’t wait to see such an initiative in her state.”