Oando Clean Energy Limited (OCEL) has made an inroad into the transportation business in Lagos State, acquiring and taking delivery of an undisclosed number of electric vehicles from Chinese carmaker, Yutong Bus.

OCEL is the clean energy arm of Oando Plc, largely owned by Wale Tinubu. His company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lagos State Government through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) on April 28, 2022.

It was gathered that history was made in Nigeria’s last-mile business in June 2021, when Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce logistics company, GIG Logistics, and JET Motor Company struck a deal to launch the first electric vehicles in the country’s delivery market.

GIGL partnered with JET, a car assembly firm, to phase out internal combustion engine from its logistics’ cargo bus fleet, replacing them with EVs in line with UN Environment’s Electric Mobility Programme.

The Oando, Lagos State agreement will see Oando Clean Energy roll out 12,000 electric mass transit buses, supporting charging infrastructure, and service centres (EV Infrastructure Ecosystem).

According to the statement released, it was disclosed that the electric mass transit deal would lead to the phase-out of current combustion mass transit buses in the state.

Commenting on the acquisition and deal between the state and his firm, Wale Tinubu, who is the Chairman of OCEL, said: “The arrival of our electric mass transit buses and development of an EV infrastructure ecosystem is a reminder that the only way to remain ahead of the curve is by being unafraid to break new ground and consistently looking for opportunities to leapfrog.

“Public-Private Partnerships have been critical to getting the project to this point and will continue to fuel our expansion across the entire country.

“The commencement of this project gives us a platform to showcase to other States what is possible and open the door for engagements on bespoke solutions to suit their local needs as well as act as a model to be adopted by other organizations looking to venture into sustainable transportation.”