The Federal Government has announced that transitioning from petrol-driven vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas vehicles could significantly lower transportation costs across Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali, during a working visit to an International Liquified Natural Gas Energy Conversion, Transportation, and Safety Company in Abuja on Tuesday.
Alkali highlighted the potential economic impact of adopting CNG-powered vehicles, emphasizing that transportation is crucial to the nation’s economy.
He asserted that switching to CNG would save substantial resources and address many of the current challenges in public transportation.
“Once CNG is implemented nationwide, we will see a drastic reduction in transportation costs,” Alkali stated.
“We already have several CNG outlets in Abuja, and it is President Bola Tinubu’s vision to establish these outlets across the entire country.”
The minister further explained that the government’s focus on CNG represents a commitment to providing safer and more affordable energy within the transportation sector. This shift, he noted, should help reduce the overall cost of goods and services.
Supporting this view, former Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Ita Enang, claimed that CNG-driven vehicles could cut transportation costs by as much as 90 percent.
“This is a massive initiative, and it’s for projects like this that President Bola Tinubu established specialized ministries for transportation and gas,” Enang said.
“These ministries are tasked with easing the cost of living and transportation for Nigerians. The move to CNG justifies the government’s decision to remove subsidies on petroleum products, as there is now a viable alternative. To mitigate the economic impact and pain from the subsidy removal, Nigerians should embrace gas.”
Chief Operating Officer of the company, Samuel Uko, reassured stakeholders of the company’s commitment to reducing transportation costs in Nigeria. He emphasized that the gas initiative aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and urged all stakeholders to support the government’s efforts to curb inflation.
