The Federal Government on Tuesday commenced the distribution of 400 autogas conversion kits under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) to transport unions in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.
Under the PCNG initiative, the government is freely offering the kits worth N1.2 million per kit to each benefiting state and also assuring of a free conversion exercise for the members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW)and National Association of Road Transport Owners, (NARTO).
Speaking during a motor park rally in Abuja, Michael Oluwagbemi, the project Director and Chief Executive Officer of the PCNGI, announced that the initiative targets the free conversion of at least 1 million commercial vehicles across the nation in the next two years.
Oluwagbemi who delivered the kits to the leadership of both the NURTW and NARTO in Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, said the initiative is aimed to address and ultimately reduce the cost of transportation across the country, as the usage of gas will be a cheaper alternative to petrol.
“In all of this, you will be enjoying cheaper cost of fuel, Mr. President has ensured by working with NMDPRA to give concessionary pricing for gas for auto vehicle will ensure that you are filling your vehicle between #230 and #300 per Kg.
“Beyond this, the conversion workshop in place, the equipment provided, your different unions will be nominating you in the coming days so that this conversion workshop will then be able to implement the convention that is necessary but after your vehicle is converted it requires gas. Across the country today, we are working with our partners at NNPCL, NIPCO, BOVAS and various other organizations to ensure that CNG fuelling stations are made available to you, so that you can refuel your vehicles without any stress.”
Oluwagbemi assured that efforts were ongoing to develop a financing model for the private sector and development partners to benefit from the initiative, noting that the commercial driver accounts for about 90 percent of the Nigerian vehicular traffic.
He said, “In terms of private vehicle owners, they constitute 10% of Nigerian vehicular traffic. We are focused on the mass transit which is 90% and rightly so.
“But I can assure you that the private sector and development partners are developing financing programme to enable private sector, especially employees who earn regular salary to be able to access this opportunity as well. It will go round.
“But at the first instance, I think we are focusing on the mass transit and rightly so, especially union-operated mass transit. The plans are firmly in place and you saw our agreement. This agreements have very iron-clad clauses surrounding utilisation an operation.
“We are properly tracking them to ensure that there is also proper certification of conversion that are done to ensure that the vehicles are liable after conversion. Vehicles that are converted will run on both fuel and gas.
“But our intention is to make sure that they run more on gas as increased number of gas stations become very available in these territory.”
The Chairman Board of Trustees of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Najeem Yasin, called on transport operators to key into the initiative to reduce the cost of fuel and transportation.
“We know that the cost of transportation affects everything in the country. Because you must use any of the means of transport as a farmer.
“I call on all you to support this initiative so that the cost of transportation can come down to the barest minimum,” he added.
