June 11, (THEWILL) – Anambra State Commissioner for Industry, Mr Christian Chukwudozie Udechukwu, has canvassed for the use of renewable energy in vehicles, such as CNG, LNG, and solar-powered technologies that are able to support mass transport systems in Nigeria.
Hon Udechukwu gave the advice at Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd at Nnewi, Anambra State, while inspecting the vehicle plant recently.
According to the Commissioner IVM has the capacity to contribute to the national solution that is required to tackle the fuel crises in the country due to the removal of fuel subsidy.
Udechukwu, who informed that he was sent by the Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, to see how Anambra State is getting ready for the solution to the challenges that are presently facing Nigeria, said that the State Government is very much aware that Innoson has renewable energy technologies such as CNG, LNG, and solar-powered technologies that are able to support mass transport system in Nigeria.
According to the Commissioner, one of the ways by which Government can alleviate the fuel crisis is by introducing mass transportation systems that run on alternative energy as well as the ones that run on fuel.
He said, “The more you have the ones that run on gas, solar powered and Liquified Natural Gas, the greater you have the pressure for stability in the regular fuel price because there is an existence of alternative fuel choices and Innoson offers those choices.
“We are here to see how he is carrying out mass production of vehicles to be able to supply and support the Federal Government in its policies to alleviate the problems and challenges Nigerians face now in transportation. That is why we are here. If you look behind, you will see the buses that are lined up there. It is a large number running up to a few hundred. There are small-capacity and big-capacity buses.”
On whether Innoson has the capacity to mass produce vehicles for the Nigerian public, the Commissioner said, “I believe that Innoson has the capacity to contribute to the national solution that is required today. We are very proud of him and he had, with a foresight, established this industry well before these challenges arose. He is growing capacity. We have seen the number of vehicles that are already manufactured daily, weekly and monthly. It means that, if there is an order that comes through, he will be able to ramp up production. That is really what we need.
“We are lucky today that we have local industries that have the capacity to manufacture on a mass scale. Even though the government orders vehicles, in the time it would take the vehicle orders to be placed and for the procurement process to come through and all of that, Innoson would have been able to solve that problem. The best option that we have is to challenge our local industrialists to expand and grow. There is no nation on earth today where the government spends its own procurement funds overseas.”
Also speaking, Chairman of Innoson Group of Companies, Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, said that he doesn’t think Nigeria has any serious challenge as it concerns the cost of fuel because he has already found a solution many years ago before the issue at hand.
According to Chukwuma, the high cost of petrol will definitely force people to reduce their expenses by using buses to go to work. He, therefore, advised that the best option is to switch to vehicles that run on alternative energy, which is produced massively at his company in Nnewi.
With stocked-up materials on ground to produce up to 500 units in a very short period, Chukwuma informed that his company has scaled up production, churning out about 20 units of vehicles daily to meet up demands that may come up from both the private and public organisations.
Emphasising that his factory had been set up even before the present challenges came up, the Chairman said, “We did not set up the factory because of today. We set it up to serve Nigerians from any tribe.
“I told you that when there was COVID-19 last time, most of the ambulances used in this country were produced here. Today, it is obvious that it is buses that they need and we will produce for them and we are assuring them. The materials to be used will not be an issue. We are going to satisfy them. The important thing is for people to make orders. Let all the states give us order, we are ready to supply and satisfy them with a good price”
“Anybody who goes overseas to import buses is wasting foreign exchange for this country. Everybody must work together to move this country forward. How can we go overseas to buy buses while we are here producing and exporting to other countries? It is very wrong. So I feel that anybody who is thinking of importing buses into the country is wasting our foreign exchange. We have to hold that person responsible.”
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
