The federal government has pledged to intensify efforts to promote Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a cheaper alternative fuel for transportation, with a renewed focus on accelerating the rollout of 1 million CNG-powered vehicles across the country.
To this end, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has tasked the leadership of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) and the Decade of Gas Secretariat to focus on critical interventions.
In a statement in Abuja, the minister urged the Pi-CNG & EV office and the secretariat to step up investments, expand CNG infrastructure and strengthen programmes to drive nationwide adoption.
Ekpo gave the directive in Abuja while receiving progress updates from the two bodies, stressing the need to translate the federal government’s auto CNG policy into tangible benefits for Nigerians in the form of cheaper transport fares.
He said the drive had become imperative following the removal of petrol subsidy and the need to provide Nigerians with a more affordable and environmentally friendly alternative for transportation, in line with the aspirations of President Bola Tinubu.
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman/CEO of Pi-CNG & EV, Mr. Ismaeel Ahmed, said the initiative would step up investments and programmes to expand CNG infrastructure and increase vehicle conversions nationwide and lead to cheaper transport fares for millions of Nigerians.
Ahmed explained that the joint industry market study completed by the decade of gas secretariat provided a framework for accelerating rollout, tracking progress, identifying gaps and strengthening implementation efforts to accelerate the adoption of CNG as a transportation fuel.