Lagos Puts 11 Electric Buses on the Road, Targets 552

Lagos has deployed 11 new electric buses, the first batch of a 50-bus commitment under the current phase of a partnership between the Lagos State Government and Oando Clean Energy Limited. The state's eventual target is 552 electric buses across Lagos public transport corridors.

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) announced the delivery on Tuesday in a statement on its social media accounts. Oando Clean Energy supplied the vehicles. LAMATA regulates the operation.

The programme began with two pilot electric buses deployed in 2023. Those units carried the project through proof-of-concept. This week's presentation marks the move to larger-scale deployment.

What did officials say at the presentation?

Commissioner for Transportation Oluwaseun Osiyemi said the transition to cleaner energy was essential as the state's population and economic activity expand. He said the state government recognised that "the future of transportation must be anchored on sustainability, energy efficiency, innovation and environmental responsibility."

Osiyemi added that Lagos is pursuing a gradual reduction in carbon emissions in line with the state's net-zero ambitions by 2050.

LAMATA Managing Director Abimbola Akinajo called the presentation evidence of progress achieved through sustained collaboration between the state government and its private-sector partners. She listed the environmental advantages of electric buses: reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and lower noise pollution.

"The partnership with Oando is translating a shared vision for cleaner transportation into practical results," Akinajo said. She added that the deployment would strengthen efforts to modernise public transport operations in Lagos.

How did the project reach this scale?

The partnership between LAMATA and Oando began with a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2022. Two pilot electric buses followed in 2023. Oando Clean Energy President and CEO Ademola Ogunbanjo said the period between the pilot deployment and this week's presentation was devoted to four tasks: testing the technology, evaluating operational resilience, assessing environmental impact and gauging public acceptance.

According to Ogunbanjo, the experience and data gathered in that period provided the foundation for moving from proof-of-concept operations to larger-scale deployment.

He described the initiative as "a defining moment in the evolution of electric mobility in Nigeria and Africa." The project goes beyond bus deliveries, he said. It represents the foundation of a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transportation ecosystem that could be replicated across the country and the continent.

Ogunbanjo was direct about the project's significance. "If it can work in Lagos, it can work anywhere in Nigeria," he said. "The future of mobility is electric, and that future is already taking shape here in Lagos."

What ecosystem is Oando building around the buses?

Beyond supplying vehicles, Oando is working towards a comprehensive domestic electric mobility ecosystem. Its components include:

• charging infrastructure
• maintenance facilities
• technical manpower development
• spare-parts supply chains
• local vehicle assembly as the end goal

The initiative has financial and technical backing from the Bank of Industry, Wema Bank and Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong. Prospective funding partnerships involve the Africa Finance Corporation and the International Finance Corporation.

What happens next?

The additional buses are expected to provide further operational experience for the expansion of electric mobility across the state and support Lagos' broader climate action and sustainable development objectives. The measurable milestones to track are the completion of the 50-bus phase, progress toward the 552-bus target and the state's 2050 net-zero deadline.

The pilot-to-fleet transition took roughly two years. The next test is whether deployment can accelerate at a pace consistent with those commitments.