President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the immediate deployment of 100,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion kits across Nigeria within the next two to three weeks to help cushion the impact of rising petrol and diesel costs on citizens.
The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, Ismaeel Ahmed, disclosed this on Tuesday after meeting with the President at the State House in Abuja.
Ahmed explained that the President’s directive was prompted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has contributed to rising global petroleum prices and increased transportation costs in Nigeria.
“The President, as usual, is always trying to get information on what is going on, especially with the war in the Middle East and the rising cost of petrol and diesel,” Tinubu said.
He added that the President sought updates on steps being taken under the CNG programme to expand the availability of gas nationwide and reduce transportation expenses for Nigerians.
“The President wanted to know what we are doing at the Pi-CNG and EV to scale up the availability of gas and CNG everywhere in the country so that people would have less cost of transportation,” he stated.
According to Ahmed, the President issued a direct mandate for the mass rollout of conversion kits to make natural gas more accessible as a cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel.
“So the President has given a direct mandate that we should immediately deploy about 100,000 kits,” he added.
The initiative forms part of the government’s efforts to promote cleaner and more affordable energy options for transportation across the country.