The federal government of Nigeria has been urged to provide the necessary technical and administrative leadership as well as financial incentives to convert 20 per cent of petrol stations in Nigeria to compressed natural gas (CNG) within the next 6 months to 1 year.
Speaking with members of a leading pro-democracy group, Kwara Must Change, at the newly commissioned CNG station in Ilorin on Wednesday, a clean energy advocate and a peacebuilding professional, Mr Abdulrazaq Hamzat, also urged the federal ministry of Petroleum Resources to be more proactive and aggressive in its efforts to drive the adoption of CNG in the country.
Mr. Hamzat said that the CNG adoption programme of the federal government has been too slow in execution to become an alternative energy source for gasoline users in the short term.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum launched a CNG adoption programme in August 2023, “but the initiative is not only too slow in implementation; it is also too small to accommodate the volume of demand in the country.
According to Hamzat, the Ministry of Petroleum, through NNPC Limited, partnered with NIPCO Gas Limited to establish CNG stations in the country.
“Although Nipco is present in 22 states, it currently operates just 15 autoCNG stations, with about 19 others coming up, including 4 in Lagos,” he said.
Hamzat explained that NNPC’s partnership with NIPCO will develop about 56 CNG stations across Nigeria, out of which 35 will be in Lagos State alone, adding that in the same Lagos, one other CNG station was developed with capacity to fill 600 trucks and buses per day.
Hamzat maintained that the CNG stations are too insufficient, even as pilots, to accommodate the volume of demand that would come, even in their first few weeks of operation.
“The survey conducted by our research team shows that there is a huge expectation from the public, beyond the plans of the federal government, and this will create some setbacks in the subsequent advocacy for CNG adoption.”.
“Our research shows that one in every five Nigerians is willing to try CNG when it is available.”.
Hamzat therefore proposed that the federal government mandate all petrol stations to convert 20% of their facilities to CNG.
“What we would propose is for all petrol stations in the country to convert 20% of their stations to CNG in the next 6 months or 1 year for efficient coverage.”.
“I think we are underestimating the quest for alternative fuel in Nigeria,” he said, noting that there is huge expectation for CNG beyond the plans of the government.
He said that having such big ambition will force the government to adjust the regulatory framework, fast-track stakeholder engagement, and invest more in equipment, logistics, and the distribution network to meet the projected demands of CNG.
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