From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Federal Government has said that Nigeria’s huge gas deposit can power the nation’s transportation and industrial sectors for 97 years, at a cheaper cost than petrol,
It therefore said that that informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resolve to invest in the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative to fuel in the two sectors.
Director Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, Engr. Micheal Oluwagbemi, Programme stated this in Kaduna at the weekend while breaking ground for the construction of the first CNG vehicle Conversion Center in North-Western Nigeria.
When completed, the CNG vehicle conversion center will convert Petrol vehicles to dual fuel engines, enabling them to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
According to Oluwagbeni, the Federal Government is piloting the conversion of the PMS vehicles to gas engines through its palliative project, which has been captured in the 2023 supplementary budget, adding that under that project, 55,000 vehicles will be converted at subsidized rate.
“Nigeria is long overdue for this gas revolution, we are a gas country that happens to have crude oil. We have gas in large quantities that can last us for 97 years if fully utilized.
“So, we should take gas seriously for industrialization and transportation. This is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken the bold step; after the sound economic policy of fuel subsidy removal that was importing foreign fuel into Nigeria, to be smuggled to neighboring countries, exporting jobs, and importing poverty, he has decided to replace it with use of Nigeria’s resources, which is gas for the benefit of Nigerians and development of Nigeria.
“We are going to be converting 55,000 vehicles at a discounted rate under the palliative programne that is captured in the supplementary budget. While over 11,500 platforms, including buses and tricycles that will be using CNG, will be procured.”
He said, President Tinubu has a target of having a million out of about 17 million vehicles on Nigeria roads converted to CNG vehicles before the end of 2027, which means that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created in the CNG value chain.
Speaking on the safety and affordability of the CNG as an alternative to fuel, Oluwagbemi said, CNG is over 40 percent cheaper than PMS and safer than petrol for vehicular and industrial use
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