Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Chief Executive Officer of Dryve Fleet, Ken Omusi has said partnering with the Beijing Henrey Automobile Technology Company Ltd will create over 2,000 direct jobs in Edo.
He disclosed this in Benin after signing the contract deal with the company in Beijing, China.
Mr. Omusi said the deal has led to the decision of the automobile company to propose an assembling and manufacturing plant in Nigeria and which will be cited in Benin.
Omusi added that this will also boost the effort of the present administration in tackling security and cultism in the state because when people are really working, they will not have much time to go and involve in crime and criminality.
He added further that the company has promised to bring 500,000 vehicles to ease the issues of transportation in the state.
According to him “And we are also bringing 500,000 of their vehicles to Benin City. And that 500,000, we plan to actually employ drivers.
“We are also going to employ drivers to manage it. When we are looking at the take home of a driver that is managing it, at the end of the month, it will range between N150,000 to N200,000, which is even much higher than the minimum wage.
“So, we are creating direct job and indirect job and this is not a rocket science. It is very practical.
“We are bringing in electric vehicle to serve as transport within Benin City, metropolis, and other parts of Nigeria. And looking at one of the indices of development is transportation because goods and services will need to move from one point to another point, point A to point B.
“You know, because of the fuel subsidy remover of this present administration of Senator Amhed Bola Tinubu, we know that transportation has not been easy where you see people now paying as high as N1,000 from Ring Road to any area in Sapele Road and in bad vehicles.
“And if you now want to go luxury trying to use any of the E-Hailing services, like from Akpakpava for example to State Secretariat, they will charge you up to about N2,500 N3,000 for a car drop.
“And looking at the salary of civil servant of minimum wage of N70,000, there was a need to think holistically how we can actually make life better for the people.
“Instead of complaining about bad governance or complaining about a lot of things, this is the time for us to do practical development”, Omusi said.
He said the vehicles will help reduce environmental pollution.
“So, I was able to travel to China to meet with the Beijing Henrey Automobile Technology Company and they are one of the largest electric cars manufacturers in the world and they have been doing well.
“Their cars are very strong and durable. So we decided to go into partnership with them to see how they can also manufacture eco-friendly vehicle.
“You know, looking at electric vehicle directly in all aspects, electric vehicle is actually the future. Is that time we as a people, we should start being part of the future even from the beginning. Not after people have been in the future for over 100 years it is now we are joining them in the future”, Omusi said.
