The Federal Government has indicated its readiness to have a minimum of one million Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles on the road for the usage of Nigerians by the year 2027.
Shuaibu Audu, the minister of steel development, stated this during his meeting with Michael Oluwagbemi, programme director/chief executive officer, of Presidential-Compressed National Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) in Abuja on Wednesday to discuss setting up a CNG park within the Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
The minister emphasised that one of the paramount objectives of President Bola Tinubu under the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ is the CNG Initiative, which is very critical following the removal of petroleum subsidy and would reduce transportation costs by at least 40%, a statement signed by Salamatu Jibaniya, Head, Press and Public Relations Dept informed.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Steel Development is collaborating with the P-CNGI to set up a CNG park within the proposed Industrial Park in Ajaokuta which is underway, to drive the CNG initiatives of Mr. President.
“Mr. President has given a mandate that he wants a minimum of one million CNG vehicles on the road by 2027. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and everything that we need to partner with the Federal Government under the CNG initiative is available in Ajaokuta.
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“One of the things we are also doing is the industrial park in Ajaokuta, where various categories of Companies will be under the industrial park within Ajaokuta. So, the CNG park will be one of the many components of the soon-to-be Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
“Everything to actualize the CNG initiative and conversions is available in Ajaokuta, and so plugging in the CNG initiative is very viable; there is gas there, an engineering workshop is there, and a tools workshop to facilitate the construction or assemblies of the kits is also there.
“Mr. President is indeed very excited about this initiative and the partnership between the Ministry and the P-CNGI, which drives the plans of industrialising Nigeria, diversifying and growing the economy, and creating jobs under the renewed initiatives”, Audu said.
The minister commended Olugbemi for the excellent job he is doing in actualizing the CNG initiative of President Bola Tinubu.
Chris Osa Isokpunwu, permanent secretary of the Ministry, lauded the initiative commending the partnership between the Ministry and P-CNGI, pledging the support of the Ministry and its team.
Olugbemi said that the Steel Industry is an absolute necessity for the actualization of the CNG initiative, adding that steel components are at the very heart of the project.
Olugbemi said that establishing the CNG park in Ajaokuta will be an evolution from importing some of the components to manufacturing them. This, he further explained, will address some of the challenges with transporting the CNG components into the country.
“The journey with the Ministry of Steel Development was critical from day one, and Ajaokuta is a hub with access to raw materials. We have hit the ground running already and are optimistic about excellent collaborations with the Ministry,” Olugbemi said.
Sumaila Abdul-Akaba, the Sole Administrator, of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, said the project was a welcome development for Ajaokuta, especially in the revival phase of the company.
He assured P-CNGI of the cooperation of the steel company in bringing to fruition the realization of the project.
