Project director: Presidential CNG initiative has attracted over $200m investment since launch

By Abubakar Yunusa

The presidential compressed natural gas initiative (Pi-CNG) says over $200 million has already been invested across the value chain of the scheme.
Reacting to a media report in a statement on Wednesday, Michael Oluwagbemi, project director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pi-CNG, said contrary to the “misinformation” about CNG, Nigerians are embracing and converting their petrol-powered vehicles to CNG-enabled vehicles.
He said since the launch of the initiative, the response has been positive.
“Following recent media reports, we find it necessary to address certain misinformation regarding the Presidential CNG Initiative,” Oluwagbemi said.
“As a response to the high cost of petrol and the attendant rise in the cost of transportation, following the removal of fuel subsidy, President Bola Tinubu launched the Presidential CNG Initiative to provide a cheaper and cleaner energy source for Nigerians.
“To date, over 100,000 vehicles have been converted from petrol to CNG/bi-fuel-powered, and more conversion centres are being established across the country.
“In addition, investors are ramping up the development and deployment of CNG infrastructure, with over $200 million already invested across the value chain. Thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities are opening up along the line.”
Oluwagbemi said going by the level of progress being made regarding the adoption and deployment of CNG infrastructure, there are concerns about “certain instances of misinformation against this epochal initiative by a section of the media”.
The CEO said one of the issues raised against the CNG initiative and its implementation is the ease of conversion.
“We see this as an opportunity rather than a challenge, and we are already deepening the development of CNG infrastructure with our partners,” he said.
Oluwagbemi said the number of conversion centres has “risen from seven in 2023 to more than 140 across the country”, and certainly not 50 centres as claimed by media reports.
“Facts are sacred… to claim or assert without veracity and evidence is an obvious attempt at mischief,” the CEO said.
“It is surprising how the choice of petrol, for which Nigeria spent about $10 billion annually on subsidy, and CNG which has the potential to save the nation $3 billion while adding $2 billion revenue to the national purse in the next three to four years, is an issue of toxic debate.
“In addition, more than 2,000 Nigerians have been employed in these conversion centres, with more jobs in the offing as CNG penetration ratchets up.
“In the past year, the private sector invested over 2 billion naira to establish these conversion centres, and another 6 to 10 billion naira will go into setting up more centres to meet the targeted 1,000 centres required to transform the nation’s energy dynamics.
“Second, there is no cost of conversion for commercial vehicles in Nigeria. It is free under the President’s Conversion Incentive Programme. The programme seeks to convert one million commercial vehicles to CNG/bi-fuel in the next three years.”
The PCNGI boss also debunked reports on “conversion explosion” in Edo state.
Oluwagbemi said CNG is safe and cleaner to use, lighter and eight times less explosive than diesel and eighteen times less explosive than petrol.