According to a news report from The Nation, the process for the nationwide deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles has officially commenced, with plans to deploy at least 530 buses in six pioneering states by the end of the month.

These states include Oyo, Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

Michael Oluwagbemi, the Programme Director of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), made this announcement yesterday during an event marking the commencement of activities leading up to the rollout, scheduled to last for 15 days.

Oluwagbemi highlighted that the distribution would be demand-led and stressed efforts to accelerate the conversion of diesel and petrol-fuel engines nationwide.

Furthermore, he mentioned that President Tinubu has directed the PCNGI to ensure the conversion of at least 10 per cent of the total number of vehicles in the country within the first year of the initiative's rollout.

The programme officially kicked off yesterday in the Southwest with the Presidential (virtual) commissioning of critical gas supply projects.

Today, the team will inspect the Jets and Mikano Factory along with representatives of the Ministry of Labour and workers unions.

Southsouth and Southeast stakeholders engagement will be held tomorrow in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Affiliate conversion and refuelling at the Femadec Site as well as an inspection tour of the Total Energies support station are planned.

Another six-day inspection tour of the Kojo Factory at the Enugu-Onitsha Site will begin on May 24 to receive the first set of assembled tricycles, buses, cylinders and kits ahead of the official launch.

The Luojia Assembly Plant for CNG tricycles on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will be inaugurated on May 30.

“These programmes are a fulfilment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise to drive Nigeria’s energy transition in the transportation sector leveraging CNG and enabling economic growth,” Oluwagbemi stated.

He noted the President’s political will to ensure the full utilisation of natural gas which hitherto was being flared.

Oluwagbemi, who said gas is present in commercial quantity in 30 of the 36 states of the federation, added that though CNG penetration (via filling stations) until last year had been less than 20, this has grown to 50 this month.

He said about 100 are ready to be deployed by June while applications for another 150 are awaiting approvals.

Addressing transport sector stakeholders from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states, Oluwagbemi said to encourage CNG penetration, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulation Authority (NMDPRA) has directed all filling stations in Nigeria to install gas pump points in their stations.

“Going forward, it would be illegal to operate a filling station in Nigeria without a gas filling point within your premises and this will further boost accessibility to the commodity by end users,” Oluwagbemi said.

He clarified that the commodity is different from Liquefied gas (domestic gas) which is a byproduct of petroleum products.

He clarified that because CNG is a natural gas, it is lighter than the air, and the rate of its dissipating into the atmosphere is so fast that it will not combust.

Oluwagbemi commended NIPCO Gas Ltd and Bovas Gas Ltd, the programme’s leading partners for the various initiatives aimed at CNG penetration in the country.

He said the programme would also be developing the capacity of local technicians and engineers in the entire CNG value chain.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha urged Nigerians to back the initiative.

Addressing stakeholders at the Event Centre in Ikeja, she said the ministry was mobilising all workers to key into the programme and embrace the transition from fossil fuel-dependent vehicles to CNG.

She said: “Though several administrations paid lip service to the transition from fossil to CNG, President Bola Tinubu has shown unwavering commitment to the paradigm shift in energy transition from an unpredictable energy to a more sustainable and inclusive energy.

“The President’s dream is working already and it will come to fruition and the Ministry of Labour and Employment is committed to ensuring that the policy creates jobs for Nigerians.”

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, expressed happiness that Nigeria is on the verge of an energy transition that is akin to a revolution in the energy mix.

He said the CNG is not only in abundance in Nigeria, it is cleaner than fossil fuel and more economically friendly and capable of bringing down inflation occasioned by the cost of food.

Oyo State Commissioner for Works, Prof. Daud Sangodoyin, said the state only recently deployed CNG buses as part of the pilot phase which would soon go around all parts of the state.

Executive Director of Centre for Mobility and Access Development, Dr Kayode Opeifa, said the CNG would be a catalyst for the economy and break the monopoly enjoyed by fossil fuel.