Over $1 billion in private sector investments have entered Nigeria’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) value chain, the chairman/CEO of the Presidential Initiative on CNG (PiCNG), Ismaeel Ahmed, has disclosed.
This comes as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, on Thursday launched the Nigerian Gas Vehicle Monitoring System (NGVMS) to promote safety, accountability, and environmental integrity in the nation’s CNG. sector.
Speaking at the pilot launch held at an NNPC Retail Station in Abuja, Ekpo said the NGVMS would ensure that only vehicles converted at accredited facilities with certified kits can access CNG at approved stations.
He noted that the system would provide end-to-end oversight, from conversion to refuelling, guaranteeing the safety of citizens and the integrity of Nigeria’s growing CNG ecosystem.
Ekpo described the initiative as a milestone under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Decade of Gas Initiative, which aims to make CNG the affordable and sustainable energy choice for Nigerians.
The chairman/CEO of the PiCNG, Ismaeel Ahmed, revealed that over $1 billion in private sector investments has flowed into Nigeria’s CNG value chain. He added that more conversion and refuelling stations will be commissioned nationwide before year-end.
In separate speeches at the event, leaders of various transport unions in Nigeria expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for launching the PiCNG to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal in 2023.
They said that under the initiative, members have benefited from over one million free CNG kits, buses, and tricycles (Keke), which have significantly reduced transportation costs and subsequently lowered the prices of foodstuffs across the country.
The union leaders urged the government to prioritise commercial vehicles in the CNG project, ensuring they are preferred.
Additionally, they appealed for the expansion of CNG stations nationwide, noting that only a few states currently have CNG conversion and refuelling stations. This would further enhance the initiative’s effectiveness.
