Nigeria’s Ogun Polytechnic Rolls-out Prototype Electric Tricycle
The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Dr Mukail Akinde Friday disclosed this while speaking when the Governing Council of the institution led by its Chairman, Alhaji Garba Gashua and the National Automotive Design and Development Council visited the innovation centre of the institution to inspect the newly invented electric automated tricycle.
The institution, he said, is planning to have a mini assembly plant a product of its Innovative Centre, to mass produce the electrically automated tricycle, and would soon seek the financial and technical participation of the Federal Government, as well as corporate organisations in the manufacturing sector, to help drive the commitment of the polytechnic to see to the commercial production of the invention.
The rector said that the success of the commercial production of the tricycle would help a lot to cut importation, “reduce the pressure on our foreign exchange and boost job opportunities for our teeming youths.”
The polytechnic is said to be the first institution to produce this brand of tricycle, built and assembled at the institution’s innovation centre.
The future design will contain three people; the rider and two other people at the back to be produced “at our mini assembly plant here in the way we can produce like 10 tricycles or more. I want to assure you that by next season we are producing three of these tricycles that we shall be using on our campus” , Dr Akinde added.
Responding, the Chairman, the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Alhaji Garba Gashua, said he was excited and proud of the brilliant innovation of the polytechnic and would certainly rally support to ensure that the dream is fully realised.
The Director, Vehicle Electrification, National Automotive Design and Development Council, Mr Ayinde Abdullahi, while commending the initiative said that the completion of so many raw materials companies being built by the Federal government would help a lot to boost local production in the automobile industry.