The Federal Government has assured it would make cheaper the conversion of vehicles to autogas to mitigate the effects of rising petrol costs and usher in the era of gas as an alternative source of fuel for Nigerians.
The minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Silva stated this on Thursday during an Autogas Dispensing Station and conversion inspection at the NNPC Autogas dispensing facility, Jahi and Autolady Garage, Abuja, where some government official vehicles were converted.
Silva expressed satisfaction with the conversion process and charged conversion centres to make vehicle and user safety a priority. He added that his vehicles and others in the presidential fleet would soon be converted.
Present at the inspection was the executive secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Saidu, who said autogas would be made available to people all over the country.
READ ALSO: Nigeria earns victory in Inter Ocean Oil dispute, relieved of $1.5bn liability
“Nigerians can be rest assured of the government’s commitment to providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative to PMS, as prices have been on an upward climb in recent months following the deregulation of the downstream sector.
“Aside from the fact that autogas is cheaper, we are also concerned about making the conversion of cars affordable so that Nigerians can indeed reap the advantage of this new policy,” he said.
The PPPRA boss also said that some filling stations across the country were already keying into the plan by adding autogas dispensers to their stations.
He urged Nigerians to embrace autogas as gas-powered vehicles are cheaper and more environment-friendly. He also noted that the majority of vehicles built in the last two decades were well suited to conversion for dual-fuel applications, and therefore, safe for people willing to convert their vehicles.
