Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has taken delivery of four Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) hybrid buses from the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGI), to enhance public transportation in the nation’s capital.
The mandate secretary of the FCTA Transport Secretariat, Chinedu Elechi, who received the buses on behalf of the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, said the initiative was a testament to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Elechi expressed gratitude for the swift delivery of the buses, recalling that the PCNGI team had promised them within a day.
“May I, on behalf of the Honorable Minister of the FCT, receive the keys to these buses. It was just yesterday that we talked about this when the minister asked me to represent him in the National PCNG Programme of Gas.
“When you said, Honourable Minister, my brother, we are going to do something to surprise you, I said, ‘What is it?’ You said, ‘We are going to give you four super 50-seater hybrid buses, PCNG and AGO, that will run immediately. If there’s no CNG, it runs on AGO.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?’ And you said, ‘We can do it in 24 hours.’
“We were very happy that the promise you made, the buses are here, and this is what we will push about the Renewed Hope Agenda because with a 50-seater bus multiplied by four, we are talking about moving over 200 people efficiently,” he said.
Elechi emphasised the importance of public transport in modern cities, stating that the minister of the FCT has always said that no modern city can survive, or there is no modern city, without a robust public transportation system.
He highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects, including newly commissioned bus terminals in Mabushi and Kugbo, and assured that more buses would be procured to improve mobility.
“These buses, as good as they look, will be very helpful. We are going to get more buses; the minister is already working on that. I am sure both those who have private transportation or those who do not would enjoy the ride,” he said.
The mandate secretary concluded by thanking President Tinubu and the PCNGI team for their support.
While presenting the buses, the programme director and chief executive of the PCNGI, Michael Oluwagbemi, praised the FCTA for its commitment to infrastructure development.
“We have identified potential onward beneficiaries of these buses to ensure that they get to the people of Nigeria and deliver the promise of Mr. President.
“Naturally, we looked around, and our Federal Capital Territory, having demonstrated great support for this program, having shown great innovation itself by investing not just in the roads but in terminals under the leadership of the Honorable Minister, popularly known as Mr. Project, and the Transport Mandate Secretary, we felt that the FCT should be a major beneficiary.
“Right after I made the call yesterday when that decision was made, I spoke to the Mandate Secretary and said, ‘Can we have it in the next 24 hours?’ Because our philosophy at the PCNGI is to talk and do,” he said.
Oluwagbemi commended the FCT’s transformation, calling it Nigeria’s most important physical achievement since independence.
“The land we are in today was not occupied 40 years ago. And here we are, striving national capital because Nigerians made it happen. That same way that we made it happen, we are going to make compressed natural gas (CNG) happen for transportation,” he said.
He also revealed that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) would introduce new license plate formats for CNG and electric vehicles in September.
“Well, you are receiving four buses because you are one of our biggest supporters. Mr. President wants to see Nigerians move around cheaper, safer, and reliably,” he said.
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