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The Federal Government has dismissed concerns regarding the safety of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), encouraging commercial drivers to participate in the free conversion program it has provided.
In a move towards cleaner energy and cost-effective transportation, the government on Thursday, announced a 100% discount on CNG conversion for all unionized commercial drivers, beginning in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It also said Ride-share companies also known as e-hailing taxis including Bolt and Uber will benefit from a 50% discount on conversion kits with free installation.
This initiative, driven by the Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG), kicked off on Friday in both the FCT and Lagos State, with plans for further expansion to other regions in due course.
Omolara Obileye, Business Development and Strategist at PI-CNG who spoke during the on-site assessment of the five partnering conversion workshop companies in Abuja, explained that CNG, by its nature is very safe for cars, adding it is even less susceptible to explosions compared to petrol.
Obileye said that there are currently more than 12 verified CNG conversion centers in Abuja and 80 nationwide and urged commercial drivers to participate in the initiative by presenting their vehicles at the designated conversion points.
She said: “Today we have started with the e-hailing cabs and the scheme is going to run around the federation. We are starting with Abuja today and Lagos and we will keep rolling out the announcements we make regularly as we go to each of the states. Nationwide, we intend to convert over a million cars. And like I said, we are just starting the scheme.
“For private individuals, the cost of conversion is arranged. It depends on the car type. We have 4 cylinders, we have 6 cylinders, we have 8 cylinder vehicles. It depends on the size of the cylinder that goes into your vehicle. It ranges anywhere from 700 to about 1.8 million.
“For transport owners across the federation, the cost of conversion is 100% free to you. Please go to your transport associations, key in and as we go to your locations, we will register you, take your details and advice on the conversion centers that you can go to present your car and get free conversions.
And all of this is courtesy of the president.
For safety measures, Obileye noted that drivers must undergo training at the conversion center before leaving.
“This training aims to educate them about the specific modifications made to their vehicles, the components installed, safety precautions for refueling, maintenance checks, and instructions on utilising the various conversion kit tools integrated into their vehicles.
“How to check on the gas thermometer to know what gas is left and how to switch between both the CNG gas and the petrol in the cars.
“We have refueling stations that are across the federation in different states. Right now we are rolling out in partnership with a couple of old downstream and new partners. We will also push out the list of refueling stations that are available in each state and the list is an ongoing concern that will be updated regularly and this will also be shared across all our media pages,” she added.
