The federal government has rolled out plans to subsidise CNG vehicle conversion kits by 50 per cent for road transport union members as part of its move to convert one million vehicles from premium motor spirit (pms) to compressed natural gas (CNG) by 2027,
The programme director and chief executive officer of the Presidential Initiative on CNG, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this in Kaduna on Tuesday while speaking at the Northern Stakeholders engagement organised by the Initiative.
Oluwagbemi stated that the federal government had to procure over 20,000 conversion kits that would be immediately deployed for the conversion incentive programme.
According to him, “We are launching what we call the Conversion Incentive Programme, with members of the NURTW, RTEAN and NARTO being our immediate focus. This is because they are the operators in the road transport sector providing 90 percent of the transportation in the country to members of the public.
“We will be making the conversion kits available to them at a 50 per cent discount, and we are also ensuring that the installation cost is free. We are already negotiating with our partners who will initiate that project in the next few weeks.
“We have already identified eight conversion centres in four states, namely Kwara, Lagos, FCT and Rivers, that will pilot the programme. Immediately after that, we will start expanding to another conversion vent that we have identified, and there are 120 of them across the country.” Oluwagbemi said.
The subsidised conversion programme is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s goal of having one million vehicles converted to CNG by 2027.
In his keynote address, Kaduna State governor, Senator Uba Sani, who was represented by the commissioner for works, Ibrahim Hamza, commended the federal government’s Initiative setting a phase in switching from petrol-powered vehicles to CNG-powered vehicles, particularly the buses category.
He said, “Transportation is one of the major promoters of our socio-economic activities, which deals with the movement of persons, goods and freight from one point to another. This consists of air, land and sea, among other modes. The service is known to be carried out for both private and commercial purposes. In our country, the land mode is the major means of transportation, which heavily relies on the use of fossil fuels for its operation.
“Other forms of transportation include air and sea, which also uses fossil fuels that include Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Jet Oil and other combustible fuels which emit harmful Substances to the atmosphere,” he said.
Recall that the federal government rolled out the CNG initiative to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the public.
The initiative was launched in October 2023 by President Bola Tinubu after the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023. The goal is to deliver cheaper, safer, and more climate-friendly energy to Nigerians.
The initiative involves the deployment of CNG-powered buses and tricycles, with the first set of critical assets ready for delivery ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.
The federal government ordered 11,500 CNG buses and 55,000 conversion kits to be rolled out across the country. The initiative aims to reduce the burden of increased pump prices on the masses and promote the use of CNG as a cleaner and more economical alternative to traditional fuels.
The government has also provided N100 billion to purchase 5,500 CNG vehicles, 100 electric buses, and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits.
Additionally, the government has granted tax and duty waivers to support the development of CNG refilling stations and electric charging stations.
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