Poise to make lives more bearable by mitigating the impact of the removal of subsidy on petrol, Ogun State government has launched e-bikes and tricycles under the Ogun State E-Mobility Programme.

The programme, aimed at reducing the cost of transportation in the state, would also bring about cleaner environment by reducing carbon emission.

Speaking at the launch of the first phase of 2,000 electric motorcycles, at the Arcade Ground, Governor's Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, said the E-Mobility marks another milestone towards a sustainable socio- economic development of the state.

Governor Abiodun stated that the investment would be in three phases, beginning with phase one, with a focus on our e-Okada bike assembly, phase two with the tricycles and phase three with our e-vehicles, providing 10,000 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect jobs with assembly line operators.

He noted that his administration was committed to mitigating the impact of the subsidy removal and the high cost of diesel fuel and reducing transportation cost for our citizens.

"We will be launching about 2,000 e-bikes for the first phase. These commercial motorbikes can ride up to 75-80 kilometres on full charge and the vehicles up to 200 kilometres, this reducing transportation cost by 40 percent.

"We aimed to reduce our carbon footprint and bring about a significant change in how we think about transportation of our daily lives. This aligns with our energy transformation programme for a cleaner and healthier environment for the future generation.

" Through this launching of electric bikes, tricycles, vehicles, motorcycles and the battery swap stations at specific points, we are not just introducing a new mode of transportation, we are pioneering a movement towards a cleaner, more efficient and technologically advanced way of life.

Abiodun opined that he had led the country in the energy transition being the first state to launch and deploy Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Buses in the Mass Transit Buses routes, noting that his administration successfully converted Mass Transit Buses to run on CNG, as the buses were currently deployed on the Ita-Oshin-Adatan route in Abeokuta, Mowe-Ibafo to Lagos routes, serving residents in the corridor and reducing transportation fare drastically.

The governor also announced the ground breaking of a new facility, named Giga Facility, at the Special Agro Processing Zone located at Iperu-Remo, noting that the facility with a total investment sum of 40 million Dollars, would be an assembly plant for the electric bikes, two wheelers, tricycles, commercial buses, electric cars and swap stations.

He appealed to the people, particularly the youths, to engage government constructively instead of embarking on unnecessary protest which often does not yield positive results.

Also speaking, Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Said Alkali, lauded Ogun for being the first state to launch the E-Mobility, adding that it had joined African countries currently making use of more than 15,000 e-bikes in their transportation sector.

He said the programme would revolutionised transportation sector in the state and the country as a whole, provide alternative means to fuel and reduce cost, urging other state government to take a cue from Ogun in partnering with the Federal Government in CNG usage, as well as encouraging the public to support the programme to create jobs and make transportation cheaper, efficient and eco - friendly.

Earlier, Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Olugbenga Dairo, said the launch of the programme was a follow up to the conversion of mass transit buses to CNG buses last year, towards addressing increase in transportation fare occasioned by subsidy removal.

 On his part, Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, lauded the governor for initiating the programme, describing it as environmental-friendly, expressing hope that it would bring down transportation cost and improve the living standard of the people.