The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to be cautious about the production and acceptance of electric vehicles in Nigeria.
This, the House of Representatives noted, was because it could work against Nigeria’s major revenue earner, crude oil.
The House urged the Federal Government to “critically evaluate” the implications of reduced demand for crude oil in the light of emerging trends of preference for electric vehicles by its major oil buyers.
Also, the House further urged the Federal Government to “without delay” commence genuine and far-reaching diversification and structural reforms of the economy from over dependence on oil revenue.
The House also urged the Federal Government to commence research on developing alternative uses of crude oil as raw material for the production of other goods.
These were the resolutions passed at the plenary on Tuesday when the lawmakers unanimously adopted a motion moved by Mr Ossy Prestige, titled ‘Economic Implications of the Production and Adoption of Electric Vehicles on Nigeria.’
Moving the motion, Prestige said, “The House notes with dismay, the bleak future for Nigeria’s oil exports as its biggest crude oil buyers and other major Asian and European customers are poised to do away with petrol and diesel-powered vehicles from year 2025.
“The House is informed that India, China, France, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom that bought a total of 24.4 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in May 2019, almost half of the nation’s total exports for the month, are now pushing ahead with plans to stop the use of oil-powered vehicles as part of efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions, a development that could spell trouble for Nigeria’s oil exports in the coming decades.
“The House is also informed that the United Kingdom followed France in announcing that new diesel and petrol cars would be banned by 2040, in a bid to encourage people to switch to electric and hybrid vehicles. The Netherlands as well has mooted a 2025 ban on diesel and petrol cars.
“Germany too, another major buyer of Nigeria’s crude in Europe, aims to have one million electric cars on the road by 2020, while India, the biggest importer of Nigeria’s crude, is considering even more radical action, with plans to support electrifying all vehicles in the country by 2030, while China equally has announced that it was looking to ban the production and sale of diesel and petrol cars and vans as well.”
According to the lawmaker, if more countries follow the same path, the development could translate to a drastic reduction in the demand for crude oil globally and developing countries such as Nigeria, with excessive dependence on crude oil revenues, experiencing serious and prolonged economic shocks from gradual moderation and reduction in crude oil demands.
