Nigeria: Federal Government partners with transport unions on CNG

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The Federal Government has partnered with the major stakeholders in the transportation sector in the country to ease the hike in transport, which has made life difficult for Nigerians in the last year.

The programme director and CEO of the Presidential CNG Initiative, Michael Oluwagbemi, stated this at the Park to Park FCT CNG Conversion Mobilisation, which was held at the NURTW Motor Park, Area 3, Abuja.

The event had in attendance executives and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) from the FCT, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States to witness the signing ceremony.

Tribune Online reports that the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGI) is a component of the palliative intervention of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to provide succour to the masses as a result of the transitive hardship of the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government.

Speaking at the event, Oluwagbemi said the introduction of CNG will see a radical revolution in the Nigerian transport sector, which will see more Nigerians transit from fuel consumption to gas for their vehicles, thus saving costs and reducing the cost of transportation across the board. He added that the conversion (from petrol to gas) will allow vehicles to run cheaper, safely, and reliably.

“We are here today not to talk, but to walk the talk. We are here today to witness the handing over of critical equipment, materials, and conversion kits to the people who will convert your vehicles and enable them to run cheaper, safely, and more reliably.

“We are witnessing one of many actions that Mr. President has promised us. Those actions are meant to allow you, the operators in this transport sector, to benefit from the government’s package, but also to pass on this package to our people. We know that, as a result of the overall rise in transportation costs, many of our people are asking for relief.

“The activity we are witnessing here today, which is the handover of these conversion kits and cylinders to various organisations, will enable you to go to them and convert your vehicles so that they can run not just on petrol but also on gas, and to do it for free, is a big step in that direction. This is just one of many. Mr. President has promised us a million vehicles to be converted across this country for free, and I think that is huge, and that is just one of many.

“Beyond this, we are enabling the mechanic workshop and the conversion centres to enable you to get that conversion done. When we started this programme last year, we had just seven of them. Across Nigeria today, because of the assistance of Mr. President and his support for the sector, we have well over 120, and today you will be witnessing a few of them signing this agreement.

“And beyond these, the conversion workshops, the plates, and the equipment provided to them, your different unions will be nominating you in the coming weeks, in the coming days, and in the coming months, so that these conversion workshops will then be able to implement the conversion that is necessary. But after your vehicle is converted, it requires gas. Across the country today, we are working with our partners at NNPC, NIPCO, BOVAS, and various other organisations to ensure that CNG refuelling systems are made available to you so that you can refuel your vehicle without any stress. And in all of this, you will be enjoying cheaper costs of wealth.

“Mr. President has ensured, by working with NMDPRA, that concessionary pricing for gas for all two vehicles will ensure that you are filling your vehicles at between N230 and N300 per kg. And when this happens, that means you have more profits; that means you have more passengers because your customers will be enjoying cheaper costs of transportation, and that will mean a better life for you, your family, and for all Nigerians,” the PCNGI boss told the Tribune Online.

In his remarks, the former national president and chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the NURTW, Alhaji Najeem Yasin, called on transporters to support the presidential initiative. He said transportation has a multiplier effect on the economy, and the CNG, if supported, will be a win-win situation for every sector.

“We have to appreciate His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for the good initiative in supporting the transportation system in Abuja, Nigeria. We all know about transport. If there is a high in transport prices, it affects everything in the country. You must use transportation. If you are a farmer, you must bring your produce to the city. If you are moving from one place to another, you must use transportation,” Yasin said.

The Executive Secretary of NARTO, Aloga Ogbogo, also corroborated Yasin’s speech, calling for support for the programme.

“Mr. President’s move is to adopt a one-stop shop. A one-stop shop in the sense that if you address issues of transportation in this country, you have virtually touched on all other issues. Transportation has a multiplier effect. There is no alternative to transportation. Mr President’s initiative to look for alternative energy is a show of commitment to address the issues that have to do with national development in this country.

“If you are able to bring the price of petroleum down, you have increased the salary margin of the worker, you have also increased the operational cost of the transporter, you have also succeeded in reducing the price of food, and you have also succeeded in reducing the price of hospital bills because transportation has a 100% multiplier effect on the total economy.”

About 400 conversion kits were distributed to commercial vehicle owners in the three states of Niger, Kogi, and Nasarawa States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.