During the Park to Park CNG Mobilisation program at Ojota Park in Lagos on Saturday, Michael Oluwagbemi, the Project Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, made a significant announcement.
Oluwagbemi disclosed that the initiative, costing ₦36 billion, will involve the nationwide distribution of 30,000 CNG conversion kits free of charge over the next three months. Each kit, including associated conversion expenses, is valued at ₦1.2 million per vehicle, making the total project cost ₦36 billion.
He stressed that the primary goal of this initiative is to encourage the adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel for transportation.
“We are here today with over 30,000 conversion kits ready for distribution within the next 90 days. The President has instructed us not to stop at 30,000 kits; our target is one million kits. We aim to ensure broad accessibility to this government initiative,” he emphasized.
Oluwagbemi further highlighted the initiative’s objective to eliminate the era of purchasing fuel at high prices such as ₦750, ₦800, or ₦1000 per liter, promoting the use of domestically sourced gas priced at ₦230 per kilogram.
This initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to procure CNG-powered vehicles as part of measures to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
Recent reports from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) underscored a strategic shift towards Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS or petrol). NNPC indicated that CNG usage in vehicles could yield up to a 40 percent reduction in fuel costs compared to petrol.