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The federal government at the weekend said about $2.5 billion would be saved yearly from every one million vehicles powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
The Programme Director of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this during the South-South/South-East Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting on Presidential Initiative on CNG held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Oluwagbemi explained that the initiative can reduce the current inflation bedevilling the nation’s economy.
He stated that the federal government’s drive for CNG is critical to the nation’s economic progress as well as the end of an era of pollution and environmental deterioration.
He noted that CNG is cleaner, cheaper and would reduce the cost of transportation.
Oluwagbemi stated: “The initiative of the government is critical to our national development and to the well-being of the people. Rivers State is the heart of the oil and gas region. Over the last five to six decades, these resources have continued to waste.
“Nigeria records the second-largest wastage of oil and gas. We exploit it and waste it then continue to suffer poverty. The president has set the nation on the path of growth. The use of gas ensures we have energy savings; mind you the price of natural gas is controlled by the government.
“What the president is asking us is to do more with the blessings God has given us. If we are able to move three million vehicles in the next three years, we are going to end the era of environmental degradation.”
Oluwagbemi averred that the nation stands to benefit much from the energy transition, insisting that CNG is more reliable for the transportation sector of the country.
“Nigeria stands to gain a lot from the energy transition in the transportation sector. First and foremost, CNG is our own resource. Natural gas is everywhere in Nigeria. It is a much more reliable source of fuel in the transportation sector. No longer will there be crises outside of Nigeria impacting the economic livelihood of the country.
“It has the capacity of reducing inflation. It is cheaper. You can realise between 40 per cent to 50 per cent savings from patrol. This is good for Nigeria and it is safer. It is 18 times safer than petrol and diesel. It is cleaner and safer for the environment,” he added.
The programme director further said: “We will stop subsidising poverty, importing unemployment and exporting jobs. We will be using our own natural gas to drive our transportation sector. To a common man, this translates to a reduction in the cost of transportation. Our job is to give incentives to CNG vehicles. To ensure we close the financing gap that exists.
“There is enough demand for natural gas; all we need to do now is to open stations, pipelines and conversation centres. When we convert our vehicles, 1,000,000 vehicles will convert; it saves the country about $2.5 billion a year.
“This will also save us 6,000,000 litres a day. These are monies that we can spend on hospitals and on roads,” Oluwagbemi stated.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of FEMADEC Energy Limited, Fola Akinola, disclosed that modalities have been concluded to open two CNG refuelling stations and two vehicle conversion parks in Port Harcourt.
Blessing Ibunge
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