Kaduna receives 150 CNG-Powered tricycles

From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government has received 150 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered tricycles under a federal deployment initiative aimed at reducing transport costs, creating jobs, and promoting the national shift towards cleaner energy alternatives.

 The deployment is part of the TNG Tricycle Initiative, which began in May 2024 following the commissioning of the TNG Assembly Plant in Shagamu, Ogun State.

The tricycles are being issued on a subsidized lease-to-own model, with each unit worth ₦5 million being given to beneficiaries at half price (₦2.5 million) payable over 24 months after a one-month moratorium.

According to Mr. Nuhu Christopher, the Platform Deployment and Recovery Officer for the initiative, the program has so far created over 9,000 direct jobs and 75,000 indirect jobs nationwide.

“This initiative is for all classes of Nigerians, not just the poor. Everyone moves from point A to point B. We are not only cutting down transport costs, but also improving the livelihoods of thousands of citizens,” Christopher said during the handover in Kaduna.

The National President of the National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association, Sani Hassan, welcomed the intervention, saying it had brought relief to thousands of operators grappling with the impact of the 2023 fuel subsidy removal.

 “Before now, tricycle operators spent between ₦13,000 and ₦15,000 daily on petrol. With CNG, the cost of fueling drops drastically to around ₦2,000 or ₦3,000 per day. This is a huge relief,” he said.

Hassan described the deployment as a lifeline for riders and their families, noting that every tricycle empowers not just the driver but several dependents.

He urged all beneficiaries to treat the tricycles as a business, not a gift, and to pay back the subsidized amount through the association to the federal government.