…Warns against patronising non-accredited technicians
The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has licensed about 30 workshops as certified compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion centres.
It also warned Nigerians about the dangers of patronising non-accredited centres when converting their petrol or diesel-powered vehicles to CNG.
Joseph Osanipin, director general of the NADDC, disclosed this in Lagos on Thursday at the ninth NAJA annual training workshop themed ‘CNG/LPG/ EV Initiative: Challenges, Sustainability, Opportunities, and Alternative to Fossil Fuels in Nigeria. ‘
Represented by Ikechukwu Okoha, assistant director of Press and Protocol at NADDC, he attributed the explosions experienced in Nigeria by motorists using CNG vehicles to the patronage of non-accredited and substandard conversion centres.
Osanipin said the Council ensures certified workshops have standard equipment, trained technicians and certified personnel before accrediting them.
He said the Council is working with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to ensure the safety of Nigerians using CNG-converted vehicles.
“Every converted vehicle must have a certificate that only an accredited centre can issue and having the certificate is important to avoid disturbance from FRSC.
“The role of the FRSC is to ensure that converted vehicles that do not have the legal certificates are stopped from plying Nigerians roads,” he said
Read also: ABC Haulage expands capacity, adopts CNG trucks for Lafarge Cement
On how the Council is promoting CNG adoption in Nigeria, Osanipin said the Council is engaging world-class original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to ensure that Nigeria gets the best conversion solutions.
“We want to train local manpower and manufacturers of conversion kits. We created a CNG conversion portal for the registration, accrediting and licensing of CNG conversion workshops,” he added.
Also speaking, Michael Oluwagbemi, programme director of Pi-CNG, said the government has taken steps to ensure safety in the conversion and use of CNG vehicles in Nigeria.
Represented by Olayinka Rufai, Oluwagbemi said, Pi-CNG is working closely with SON and NADDC, adding that SON has stipulated several standards that must be met to uphold safety.
He said the target is to convert over 1 million vehicles by 2027 with e-hailing vehicles enjoying about a 50 percent reduction in the conversion cost.
Speaking on the benefits of using CNG vehicles, Benedict Okoh, CEO of Universal Automotive Training Academy, said CNG reduces CO2 emissions by 20-30 percent, particulate matter by 90 percent, and NOx emissions by 50 percent.
Okoh was represented by John Quincy, CTO at Universal Automotive Training Academy and he said is cost savings to use CNG vehicles as it’s estimated to be over 250 percent cheaper than petrol and diesel in Nigeria.
He advised Nigerians to ensure vehicle compatibility with CNG conversion kits before converting their cars. He estimated that conversion costs range from N700,000 to N1,600,000.
Earlier, Mike Ochonma, chairman of the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), said the theme is coming when the pump prices of petrol have gone high, leading to a cost-of-living crisis due to high transportation costs for food items and other commodities.
He said that setting up of a Presidential Committee by President Bola Tinubu to drive the CNG initiative is a sign that CNG has come to stay in Nigeria, and it is the responsibility of the media to educate the public on the safe way of converting their vehicles.
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