CNG: FG votes N36bn to convert 30,000 vehicles
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Federal Government will spend an average of N36bn to convert 30,000 petrol or diesel-powered vehicles to start running on Compressed Natural Gas in the next 90 days.
The government said it had acquired 30,000 CNG conversion kits for distribution free of charge nationwide within the period.
The kits and the conversion costs were valued at the rate of N1.2m per vehicle, making a total of N36bn within the next three months.
The move is to ensure the adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel for transportation.
The Project Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, Michael Oluwagbemi, stated this during the Park to Park CNG Mobilisation programme held at the Ojota Park in Lagos on Saturday.
Oluwagbemi said President Bola Tinubu is taking steps to ensure transporters use CNG to replace high-priced petrol and diesel, believing this would reduce the cost of transportation and by extension, the rising cost of food items.
The PCNGi boss said the President is interested in distributing one million CNG kits to commercial drivers across Nigeria as palliatives.
“Today, we are here with conversion kits. We have bought over 30,000 of these kits, mainly for distribution in the next 90 days. This will ensure that commercial transport workers can benefit directly from the palliative of the Federal Government. For this reason, we are here in Lagos. Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states are also here with us.
“We will all benefit from this immediate palliative. The President has told us that this is not just to end with 30,000 kits, the target is one million kits. We want to make sure all of you can benefit from this government initiative,” he stated.
Oluwagbemi announced that the government was building more CNG stations where drivers could buy the commodity at below N250/kg.
“The era of buying N750, N800, or N1,000/litre fuel is over. We are not doing that again. We will start using the gas under our feet so that we can buy it at N230/kg,” he stated.
He added that no fewer than 150 drivers would get vouchers to have their vehicles converted free of charge by any of the 14 workshops selected in Lagos.
“The installers of these kits are here with us, 14 of them are with us. We will sign an agreement with them. We will still get 1,000 of these CNG converters.
“Some of you will get the vouchers for the free conversion. We will start gradually and before you know it, everybody will start using CNG.
“CNG is good for our pockets, the environment and the food we eat. The prices of food will come down when the cost of transportation comes down. This is the promise of the government. This will get to all of you,” he promised.
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, expressed optimism that the conversion to CNG would bring down the cost of transportation by 50 per cent.
