Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has said that the cars and generators of Nigerians will be converted by the Federal Government to run on gas as from October.

The minister said that the service which will be free is aimed at cushioning the effect of the hike in fuel price.

Sylva who spoke on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ on Monday said that the move would reduce the carbon emissions and also the demand for Premium Motor Spirit.

Sylva stated, “The alternative we are now introducing is gas which is definitely going to be cheaper than the subsidised rate of PMS. So, what we are trying to encourage Nigerians to do now is to convert their cars to dual fuel. That means your car can use either gas or petrol and that will be done for free because the government is going to ensure that you are able to convert your vehicles for free.

“And when you convert your car for free, you go to the filling station, you see the price of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) you see the price of gas, you can decide to buy LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), you can decide to buy LNG (Liquefied Natural gas). These are all going to be available and we are going to have a roll out plan for this within October.

“Nigerians will have alternatives. It is like introducing a toll on the roads. When you introduce a tollgate, you are expected and required by law to also create an alternative. So, we are also creating that alternative so that you can go to buy gas.”
Sylva said the Federal Government launched a similar pilot scheme with commercial tricycles in Port Harcourt which they converted to gas and it was successful.

He said that small capacity generators which are colloquially known as ‘I better pass my neighbour’ will be covered by the initiative.

He also revealed that the sale of gas to vehicles will be first done by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Sylva said the use of gas is cleaner and climate-friendly, adding that once this is achieved, Nigeria would receive funding from foreign donors.

He said, “We are going to convert ‘I better pass my neighbour’. So, you will have a situation where in your house, your gas cylinder will be connected to your generator and cooker. So, you don’t need any other fuel apart from gas to run your generators.

“It will become cheaper and cleaner. Of course, our carbon emissions will actually reduce and we are expecting to gain some money from climate change (sic) for reducing our carbon emission. This is going to be a policy direction that will create a lot of opportunities.”

He said all NNPC filling stations and also some private sector marketers had signed on to the initiative, adding that the scheme would start in one part of the country and then spread to others.

When asked how Nigeria could benefit from the free initiative, Sylva responded, “Your car should be in a fairly good condition.
That is the only condition to be met because if your car is not in a very good condition, I don’t know how it is going to convert. We are already in discussion with the NURTW and they are already very happy,” the minister said