August target passes as FG says 10,600 e-tricycles coming ‘in weeks’

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

More than a month after the Federal Government’s August target for the rollout of 10,000 electric tricycles passed, Vice President Kashim Shettima has given a fresh timeline, saying 10,600 of the vehicles would now be deployed in the Northeast “in the next couple of weeks.”

Shettima, who spoke after meeting President Bola Tinubu at his Lagos residence, said the government would also deploy 300 electric buses and taxis under an e-logistics initiative intended to ease transportation costs and cushion the hardship being experienced by Nigerians.

The Vice President had in June announced that 10,000 electric tricycles, to be distributed by the North East Development Commission (NEDC), would enter the market in August.

He has now raised the projected number to 10,600, saying: “In the next couple of weeks, we are going to launch e-logistics in the Northeast. We are going to run 10,600 electric tricycles to ease the pains of the people in the Northeast, and 300 buses and taxis, e-taxis.

“All these were meant to ameliorate the sufferings of our people.”

Shettima acknowledged the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians but appealed for patience, insisting that the hardship would not be permanent.

“We appreciate the pains Nigerians are going through, but tough times do not last forever. Tough people do,” he said.

The Vice President also mounted a spirited defence of Tinubu’s economic reforms, declaring that the President inherited an economy “teetering on the verge of collapse” and took difficult decisions that prevented the country from falling apart.

He cited the removal of petrol subsidy and the realignment of the multiple foreign exchange rates among what he described as far-reaching decisions taken by Tinubu.

“When we assumed the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves was a staggeringly low $3.9 billion that was not enough to import oil for one month.

“He had the courage and the conviction to take far-reaching decisions. The withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, the realignment of the multiple exchange rates, were far-reaching decisions.

“The economy was actually teetering on the verge of collapse; he saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism. We were on the road to Caracas. He saved our economy. He saved the nation from falling to pieces.”

Shettima described Tinubu as a President with “a lot of empathy for the common man,” pointing to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of the interventions introduced to assist Nigerians affected by economic pressures.

“The NELFUND is a masterstroke aimed at assisting students of limited means to have access to drink from the Western Spring,” he said.

Shettima also disclosed that he and Tinubu remained in regular contact throughout the President’s stay abroad.

“We are quite thrilled that he is back on the beat, and we have been in regular contact throughout his sojourn abroad.

“Advances in science and technology have made it possible to really have impactful leadership wherever one might find himself.

“We speak almost every other day, and we are updating him on developments in the nation, and we are happy he’s back on the beat,” he said.

With political activities gathering momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Vice President said the administration would not abandon governance.

“Politics is in the air, but we will combine politics and governance,” Shettima said.

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