The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi) announced that the federal government is striving to equip over one million vehicles with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) systems.
In May, Michael Oluwagbemi, CEO of P-CNGi, highlighted that Nigeria could save approximately $2.5 billion annually by converting one million vehicles to CNG. He also noted that adopting CNG would alleviate pressure on foreign reserves and enhance the value of the naira.
During a tour of CNG conversion workshops in Abuja on Friday, Omo Imoukhuede, P-CNGi operations manager, described the initiative’s strategic approach to the conversion process. While several workshops have been established in Abuja, Imoukhuede confirmed plans to expand to other regions soon.
“We are starting with Abuja and will be rolling out in other states across the federation,” Imoukhuede said. “As you can see, work is ongoing, and we are confident the task will be accomplished.”
Sunday Ayoola, assistant manager at NIPCO CNG station, addressed concerns regarding the safety of CNG cylinders in vehicles. He assured that the system allows vehicles to operate on both petrol and CNG without any issues.
Ayoola explained that the conversion cost is about N4,000, with the cylinder being filled at N200 per standard cubic meter. A full cylinder enables a vehicle to travel over 100 kilometers.
“Natural gas is lighter than air, so if it escapes from the cylinder, it dissipates into the atmosphere, preventing the formation of a hazardous pool, unlike petrol,” Ayoola said. “When petrol leaks, it creates a volatile pool within the vehicle, posing a fire risk. This is not the case with natural gas, which is comparatively safer.”
