Starting in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, the Federal Government has begun deploying buses and tricycles that run on compressed natural gas.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier announced that the Presidency was prepared to introduce roughly 2,700 CNG-powered buses and tricycles.
Punch reported that the Federal Government planned to deploy 60 refuelling sites and 100 conversion workshops throughout 18 states before the end of 2024.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazak launched the initiative in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday, May 28, according to Bayo Onanuga, the Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy.
He said:
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative’s Chief Executive and Program Director, Michael Oluwagbemi, stated that the Nigerian CNG industry has a potential worth of over $10 billion.
On the expected growth rate, Oluwagbemi said:
In addition to generating jobs, he claimed that introducing CNG vehicles would have a special impact on food prices in Nigeria by reducing food inflation.
When asked which other economic sectors the effort might affect, he replied that lower fuel prices for transportation would limit the increase in food prices.
TimesNow.com.ng reported that Nigeria’s indigenous vehicle manufacturer and pioneer CNG-vehicles maker, Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company, has built a new multi-billion naira facility to begin making various buses and heavy-duty trucks with engines running on CNG.
The plant can produce about N30,000 vehicles yearly and is expected to be commissioned soon.
Innocent Chukwuma, the chairman of Innoson Group, said in a statement that the company is working with the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and plans to build a plant that will produce tractors and other farm equipment.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
