Having recognised a whopping budgetary allocation of N450 billion voted for under-recovery, otherwise known as subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the 2020 budget, coupled with the abundance and cost-effectiveness of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has started awareness campaign on the usage of CNG as an alternative to PMS that attracts huge subsidy on daily basis.
The awareness campaign becomes imperative going by the economics of scale to be adopted by Nigeria Government in production of compressed natural gas as against ceaseless payment of subsidy being paid by Federal Government which puts pressure on Naira, but the campaign currently ongoing by the Department of Petroleum Resources is expected to reel out benefits inherent in the usage of CNG on disposable income of consumers and the country’s fiscal policy.
Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, in the build-up to the preparation of 2020 Appropriation Bill had declared in Abuja that N450 billion was voted as the under-recovery, otherwise known as subsidy on PMS meant to be financed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the year 2020.
Consequently, the Department under the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources has therefore secured partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited and Green Fuels Limited for immediate conversion of petrol-consuming vehicles to compressed natural gas-fired ones, building CNG retail outlets across the country.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting held at DPR Abeokuta Field Office, Muinat Bello-Zagi, DPR Controller, noted that the move is to drastically reduce PMS Consumption by the Nigerians with compressed natural gas (CNG) alternatives, saying a switch to CNG by motorists will be cleaner cheaper and more eco-friendly than the usage of PMS.
The DPR controller, who announced the corporate partnership between DPR and NIPCO Gas Limited on Thursday, explained that Nigeria has CNG in abundance and it will be economical for Nigeria as a country, to switch to the usage of CNG in order to reduce unnecessary pressure on Nigerian currency, adding that cheaper conversion of PMS-enabled vehicles to CNG-fired ones and location of CNG outlets across the country have started immediately.
Also, Sabir Ahmed Siddique of Natural Gas Division of NIPCO Gas Limited, logistics partners of DPR on effective utilisation of CNG, declared that market and feasibility studies undertaken by NIPCO Gas Limited and DPR, showed that the usage of CNG by Nigerian motorists is cheaper by 50percent to PMS and any vehicles could be converted to gas-powered ones as no vehicle modification is required.
Bolaji Oyedeko of Green Fuels Limited explained that the conversion of vehicles for compressed natural gas will be flexible as converted vehicles can either switch between petrol and compressed natural gas in case of exhaustion of CNG.
RAZAQ AYINLA
