Ebonyi State has launched EBOCAB, a state-sponsored ride-hailing platform designed to overhaul its urban transport system, reduce street-level harassment, and generate new streams of youth employment.
The initiative, officially unveiled by Governor Francis Nwifuru in the state capital, Abakaliki, signals an emergent trend in Nigerian governance: the adoption of homegrown tech-enabled infrastructure to address long-standing public service gaps.
Nigeria’s intra-city transport systems remain informal, especially outside Lagos and Abuja. Tricycles (keke), motorcycles (okada), and unregulated mini-buses dominate. While cost-effective, these modes have often been associated with safety risks, extortion, and harassment particularly around critical areas like the Ebonyi State International Market, which Governor Nwifuru cited as a catalyst for EBOCAB’s creation.
EBOCAB, powered by a mobile app available on Android and iOS, offers 24/7 access to rides via a digital interface. Its initial fleet of 90 vehicles, including 60 pickup trucks and 30 SUVs, repurposes traditional vehicles for passenger use. Though unconventional, the strategy reflects a practical approach to rapid deployment given budgetary and infrastructural constraints.
While Ebonyi’s move is ambitious, it is not unprecedented. In 2022, Lagos State launched LagosRide, a tech-powered ride-hailing service backed by the state government in partnership with CIG Motors. LagosRide vehicles are government-acquired but leased to drivers via a hire-purchase model.
Similarly, Ogun State piloted a Smart Transport System (STS) in partnership with tech providers to improve mobility through digital bus schedules and payments, though it wasn’t ride-hailing in the strict sense.
Ebonyi, however, is arguably the first sub-national entity in Nigeria to deploy a ride-hailing platform outside the megacity context, using entirely state-branded vehicles, app infrastructure, and terminals. This makes it a unique case of rural-urban tech localisation. A significant departure from the Lagos-centric innovation model that dominates Nigeria’s digital economy.
Whereas platforms like Uber, Bolt, and InDrive have largely focused on private-sector models in major cities, EBOCAB is government-owned, operated, and branded making it a rare example of public-sector digital mobility on the African continent.
Ebonyi’s experiment will test whether tech-enabled governance can compete with or complement private sector innovation. It also raises the possibility of replicable public ride-hailing infrastructure in other underserved Nigerian states.
Moreover, the launch aligns with broader national efforts to digitize government services, improve urban resilience, and increase smartphone penetration which is currently at 51% in Nigeria and growing rapidly in peri-urban areas.
But the platform’s long-term success depends on app reliability (e.g., accurate GPS, booking logic, payments), User trust and adoption beyond state workers and early supporters, and
driver incentives and vehicle maintenance infrastructure
The new EBOCAB terminal is located at Ogoja Road near the Ecumenical Centre. With plans to expand the fleet and improve operational logistics, the terminal positions Ebonyi as a digital mobility testbed in Southeastern Nigeria.
