Ado-Ekiti, Oct. 6, 2024 – The federal government has handed over 15 CNG- powered buses to Ekiti State.
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi) Committee handed over the buses to the state government at the weekend.
The committee also unveiled seven centres.where commercial transporters can convert their petrol to CNG-powered vehicles in Ekiti.
Michael Oluwagbemi, the Programme Director, who spoke during the handing over of the buses and the unveiling of the centres, urged commercial transporters in the state to visit the centers to convert their vehicle free of charge.
He said the CNG buses were cheaper, more convenient and safer than the petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.
Oluwagbemi said the current administration was determined to energize the economy through the initiative, which he said, would create jobs and enhance sustainable development.
He said the government was targeting one million vehicles to be converted to CNG by 2027.
Oluwagbemi said 125 conversion centres had been opened across the country and listed those in Ekiti state to include Femoyo centres, Beijing Universal Limited, ABJ oil and gas, Bovas Company, and NADDC training center in the state capital.
He said the 15 CNG buses donated to the state would be deployed for inter and intra-state transportation towards achieving about 40 percent reduction in the transportation cost and ultimately reduced hike in food items.
The CNG programme director said:” The government of President Bola Tinubu through the presidential CNG initiative is committed to ensuring they(transporters) use this for their vehicles because it is cheaper, cleaner and more importantly it is safer and more reliable.
” This is a compressed natural gas; it is not the same you use in your kitchen to cook. It is lighter and stored in a bulletproof container.
“It is also the fact it is produced in Nigeria and what the president said is that instead of us to continue to import poverty and export jobs. He said will need to look inward and use what God has given us.
”It is about job creation, it is about reducing the cost of transportation and ensuring economic development by moving away from subsidy payment where we were making the few richer.
”This is a more sensible and reliable path for Nigeria in terms of our energy sector, and that is what the president is doing with this initiative.”
Gov. Biodun Oyebanji of the state, commended the federal government for the initiative and promised that the state government would support the programme towards ensuring that more vehicle owners embrace the CNG conversion. (GBN)
