Nasarawa promises to establish Nigeria’s first electric vehicles factory
By Faith AM
The Nasarawa State Government has promised to sustain its efforts in utilising the lithium resources to ensure that the first electric vehicles factory in Nigeria is established in the State.
Governor Abdullahi Sule stated this at an event organised by the Abdullahi Sule Gidan-Gidan Support Group to celebrate his two years in office on Sunday in Lafia, the State capital.
The State’s lithium reserves have garnered significant attention, particularly with the recent inauguration of a lithium processing factory in Nasarawa, built by Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited.
He said the development aligned with the Federal Government’s efforts to promote clean energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Sule added that his administration was determined to ensure that all mineral resources, including lithium produced in the State, were processed there before exporting or transported to other States and countries.
The Governor further said that despite the government efforts, it is only the first stage of lithium processing that is taking place in Nasarawa State at the moment.
According to him, “We will continue to engage investors and strategic partners to ensure that the second stage of the processing, which is the production of the battery and the eventual assembly of the vehicles, is done here in the State.
“My administration desires to achieve this, and even if we are unable to achieve it, I hope that anybody who is taking over from me in 2027 will pursue it to a logical conclusion.
“Because it is by achieving this that the State will be the number one economy we are dreaming for”, Sule noted.
Sule also appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his economic reforms and promised to key into the president’s reforms for the overall development of the country.
The Nasarawa State Government has also promised that his remaining two years would be better than the last two years.
In his remarks, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, Deputy Governor of the State said that lithium had always been in the State, but it took the foresight and ingenuity of the governor to expose it to the outside world.
Akabe further stated that there is a huge quantity of lithium deposits in various Local Government Areas of the State, and the government would leverage it to attract investors.
He said, “Electric vehicles use batteries, which are produced by lithium, and Nasarawa State is the headquarters of lithium in the country”.
Earlier in her opening remarks, convener of the event and Chairperson of the Abdullahi Sule Gidan-Gidan Support Group, Hussaina Sule said that the event was to celebrate the milestone achievements of the Governor in the last two years.
The convener, who is also the daughter of the Governor, said her father has executed a lot of legacy projects across all sectors since assumption of office about six years ago.
She therefore highlighted some of the projects including flyovers and underpasses in Lafia and Akwanga LGAs and the State Secretariat complex in Lafia for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
“Construction of over 600 kilometers of urban and rural roads, dualisation of Shandam road, ongoing bypass in Lafia and Akwanga and huge investment in security of the State.
“Others are the employment of over 400 youths in civil service, the implementation of the new minimum wage, the implementation of over 10 years of outstanding promotions, and the construction of many blocks of classrooms, among others”.
The convener further said that the State was lucky to have a man like the governor to lead saying it was only God that would reward him for his developmental strides.
