The Federal Government has announced that it was ready to launch about 2,700 CNG-powered buses and tricycles before May 29 when President Bola Tinubu turns one year in office.
This disclosure was made in a statement signed via a post on X by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, titled ‘Presidential CNG initiative set for rollout.’ on Sunday.
Onanuga said the Federal Government is set to deliver 100 conversion workshops and 60 refueling sites spread across 18 states before the end of 2024.
He explained “As studies have shown, one of the main causes of air pollution is primarily the amount of gases emitted by gasoline and diesel engines. To reduce pollution, some countries of the world, such as India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, and Italy have built fleets of natural gas-powered vehicles, instead of going the route of relying on liquid petroleum products propelled vehicles.
“From the end of May, Nigeria will take some baby steps to join such nations that already have large fleets of CNG vehicles.
“All is now ready for delivery of the first set of critical assets for deployment and launch of the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.
“About 2,500 of the tricycles will be ready before May 29, 2024…working towards delivering 200 units before the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration,” said the Presidency.
It added that in all, over 600 buses are targeted for production in the first phase which will be accomplished in 2024.
Nigeria’s commitment to this course under the Paris Climate Accord, which we are signatories to, will allow it to reduce up to 40 per cent of tailpipe emissions by natural gas vehicles.
Recall that President Tinubu launched the Presidential CNG Initiative in October 2023, about five months after the removal of the subsidy on petrol to deliver cheaper, safer, and more environmentally friendly energy.
Compressed natural gas, particularly for mass transit, has been designed to be delivered through the CNG Initiative.
