The federal government has commissioned a pilot conversion centre for vehicles that will run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The centre in Abuja is an initiative of the government to mitigate the effects of subsidy removal on petrol.
While launching the initiative at the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) yesterday in Abuja, the minister of transportation, Senator Said Alkali, said the adoption of a more environmentally friendly energy source like the CNG, which the country has in abundance would reposition the transportation sector in urban cities across the country and put Nigeria in tandem with what the world desires at this time.
The minister who was represented by the acting director, road transport and mass transit administration in the ministry, Akhidenor Cynthia, said, “Green House gas emissions pose health hazard and dire environment consequences, and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind considering that she is a signatory to Green House Emission policy aimed at reducing carbon emission in the environment.”
The permanent secretary, federal ministry of transportation/marine and blue economy, Dr Magdalene Ajani, urged Nigerians to consider the conversion of vehicles to CNG as a symbol of a new beginning, adding that the CNG initiative was not only about the conversion of vehicles but also about generating employment opportunities.
According to Ajani, the goal is to build a sustainable future, leveraging cheap and clean energy source.
Earlier, the director-general, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Dr. Bayero Salih – Farah, said the program was a demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to both environmental sustainability and economic growth.
