Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (P-CNGI) initiative yesterday took the ongoing campaign to get 10,000 commercial buses converted from petrol to CNG to Lagos commercial bus parks.
Speaking during sensitisation programmes held in major bus parks in Lagos, programme director/chief executive, Presidential CNG Initiative (P-CNGI), Michael Oluwagbemi, said the group decided that in the next 10 weeks, 10,000 commercial buses will benefit from the free conversion plan.
He said the inauguration of the Portland Gas CNG Mobile Refill Units in Ojota, Lagos, was a major step to ensure that more CNG vehicles are refilled with ease.
He said: “The visit to motor parks is just one of our many sites, where we are having 10 for 10- that is, in 10 weeks we want to register 10,000 commercial buses, between Lagos and Abuja. The buses will be converted from petrol to CNG. We started in Abuja, and we have been in Lagos now for the past one week, and we are going to continue in Lagos. The plan is that up till about the end of March, we will have 10,000 registered commercial buses converted to CNG”.
Oluwagbemi explained that the scheme aligns with the Presidential directive that one million vehicles will be converted to CNG in three years.
“But every great journey starts with a step. The first 10 weeks of the year, we are on course already. We already have over 5,000 cars registered in the last four weeks. So, that means we are on course,” he said.
He said his team is in Lagos, to meet the commercial bus drivers in their own offices. “We are not telling them to come to our office. We are coming to them, where they are. We are meeting and convincing them to convert their vehicles to CNG and enjoy all the benefits that come with it,” he said.
Oluwagbemi, said the plan is to lower the cost of transportation, and make people’s lives better.
“The commercial buses are what 90 per cent of Nigerians use, to go from one place to the other. If you lower the cost of operating these buses by 80 to 90 per cent, when you convert them to CNG, that will make life better for most Nigerians,” he said.
He said the P-CNG initiative has a different programme for private car owners, who will be offered financing schemes that allow them to pay back the conversion cost gradually.
“You have to understand why we are making it free for commercial bus drivers. If we make it entirely free for everybody, we will destroy the sector, and that will make it difficult for businessmen to make their own money”.
He said that private car owners constitute just 10 per cent of car ownership in the country, while 90 per cent are commercial buses. “So, that’s while the President declared conversion to CNG free for commercial bus drivers. We are providing financing for the 10 per cent private car owners, a plan that enables them to pay back the conversion cost, overtime,” he stated.
He disclosed that the programme is about to take off, since it was signed last December. “We are going to get news on when it will be activated between Lagos and Abuja in the next few weeks and then, spread it to the rest of Nigerians,” he said.
He said that commercial bus drivers, who have been contacted for conversion of their vehicles, will be followed up to ensure they convert their vehicles.
“We will assign and allocate them to over 150 conversion workshops. The workshops follow up to ensure they come, and then they inspect their cars to ensure they are suitable for the conversion. Remember not all the busses pass the test for conversion, because they are all at different stages of functionality. We have seen about 90 per cent compliance in Abuja, where the programme was first launched,” Oluwagbemi.
Speaking at the Portland Gas CNG Mobile Refill Units inauguration, Oluwagbemi, said his team works closely with stakeholders to ensure that Nigerians get cleaner gas for transportation. He reiterated the benefits of collaboration, in achieving the goals set for his team. The event was attended by stakeholders in the industry, including the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), among others.
