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DPR to Make Petrol Alternatives Available to Nigerians
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said that it is working towards making Nigerians use alternatives like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for their vehicles as substitutes to petrol and diesel.
This was proffered by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the agency, Mr Sarki Auwalu, when the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, paid an official visit to the headquarters of the department on Thursday in Lagos.
Mr Auwalu said vehicle owners could also use Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) as an alternative, which covers more kilometres on a comparative basis.
He said the gas products, which are cheaper and more effective, were available in Nigeria.
According to him, the petroleum industry regulatory and records maintaining agency is pushing for price freedom so that people can have choices on the type of fuel they want to use.
“The CNG tank will give you the alternative. It is interesting to know that if you buy CNG equivalent of N10,000 to diesel or petrol, the gas will take you to cover more distance.
“It covers about 1.8 kilometres for every one kilometre that petrol or diesel will take you with the same volume and price. To convert your car from fuel to CNG, you don’t need more than N200,000 and it can even be converted free of charge if you join a network of gas supplier,” he said.
The director said that DPR has got the Dangote Group to convert most of its fleet of trucks to CNG and the vehicles are performing optimally.
He said the agency “is now talking to the road transport owners and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to take a cue from Dangote by converting their commercial vehicles to CNG.”
This, he said, is in line with the agency’s push for the Nigeria gas expansion programme which will ensure that the filling system is available at filling station across the country where vehicles can buy CNG.
“We are equally pushing to make conversion kits available. This is also an area of new investment and job creation. We expect companies to invest in this new area of conversion for vehicles to be using both petrol and CNG.
“This will give Nigerians alternative to fuel and it will save the government the huge amount for subsidy and other.’’
According to the DPR chief, in many countries, filling stations sell three kinds of fuel with different prices for people to make their choice based on affordability and type of vehicle.
The director noted that 2020 has been declared as the “year of gas” and that the government “is introducing policies and programmes to make gas available for different purposes.”
On his part, Mr Mohammed after a tour of DPR onshore and offshore tracking facilities hailed the management of the department for their contributions to the growing national economy.
The Minister then charged the DPR management to do more of media advocacy for Nigerians to know more about the work the agency is doing.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The corporate mobility solution from Bolt, Bolt Business, has expressed its desire to strengthen relationships with existing customers in Nigeria by introducing solutions tailored to industries with frequent employee mobility needs, including healthcare, financial services, legal services and logistics.
This is as the organisation, over the past 12 months, delivered double-digit growth in the country, driven by expanding adoption across multiple industries, growing demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and an increasing number of firms seeking cost-efficient alternatives to managing in-house transport fleets.
The Country Manager for Bolt for Business Nigeria, Mr Isaac Iroko, disclosed that the smarter mobility solutions being planned will improve visibility, simplify expense management and support business growth.
“Our focus remains on building products that create value for organisations of every size while delivering a seamless experience for their employees,” he stated.
Bolt Business has continued to experience an increasing demand from businesses seeking smarter, more efficient ways to manage employee transportation and business travel.
It serves organisations across a broad range of industries, including financial services, technology, healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, logistics, media, real estate and fast-growing consumer businesses.
The growth reflects a broader shift in how Nigerian businesses approach corporate mobility. Rather than maintaining expensive vehicle fleets or relying on fragmented transport arrangements, more organisations are adopting digital mobility platforms that offer greater transparency, control and operational efficiency.
“Businesses today are looking beyond transportation; they’re looking for smarter ways to optimise operations and manage costs.
“We’ve seen organisations across different sectors embrace Bolt Business because it gives them a simple, reliable and transparent way to manage employee travel, whether it’s daily commutes, client meetings or business trips.
“This growth demonstrates that corporate mobility is becoming an increasingly important part of business efficiency in Nigeria,” Mr Iroko stated.
Unlike traditional fleet management, Bolt Business enables companies to centralise transportation through a single platform, providing features such as centralised billing, trip reporting, spending controls and real-time visibility into employee travel. These capabilities help businesses improve oversight while reducing the administrative burden associated with corporate transportation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To boost economic activities in Lagos Island and support residents, the chief executive of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Mr Bashir Are, sponsored the training of eight persons at the LagRide Drivers Academy through the LagRide Partner Programme.
Mr Are funded both the academy training and the vehicle costs, removing the two barriers that most frequently prevent qualified drivers from entering formal, structured employment in the mobility sector.
The beneficiaries were handed over keys to their vehicles at a ceremony in Lagos on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
They now operate a LagRide vehicle under the platform’s Drive To Own programme, which allows a Captain to earn daily income while working towards full ownership of the vehicle at the end of the agreed payment term.
“The initial capital required to be onboarded was never going to come from these young men, so we provided that intervention financially so that they can have good employment.
“Lagos is a megacity. My agency runs the largest gaming and fintech conference on the continent every year, and when those delegates arrive, we do not want them driven around in poor vehicles. This is also employment for our own people, and we have a great deal of unemployment and underemployment in this country.
“These Captains are from Lagos Island Local Government, and they can now take care of their own families. Let me be clear about one thing. This is not a project. It is a programme, and it continues,” Mr Are stated.
Also speaking, the chairman of LagRide, Ms Diana Chen, said, “Today is just a new beginning, and more and more people will come. More local governments will join us, and one day we want to bring the Governor here so that this programme runs across the state.
“LagRide is a platform where a person comes to take a job and ends up owning the vehicle. It is also a platform that any government, or any organisation with a social development or CSR mandate, can use to empower the people they want to support. The people get their own asset at the end of it.”
On her part, the lawmaker representing Lagos Island Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs Omolara Oyekan-Olumegbon, said, “Everyone keeps saying there are not enough jobs for our youths. This is our own way of ensuring that they are empowered.
“When you give a person money, it is money, and it finishes. This is the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him how to fish. You are giving these young men something they can use to take care of themselves, their families and their homes.
“We must thank the chief executive of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority for doing this, and I must also thank Chief Diana Chen. Lagos Island is a commercial hub, and we intend to keep the flag flying. This is the beginning, and we will be coming back to ask for more.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A bill aimed at prohibiting hawking, trading or preaching inside commercial vehicles in Nigeria has been passed by the Senate.
The bill known as the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, imposes fines between N50,000 and N100,000 for violations if assented to by the President.
The piece of legislation was passed by the red chamber of the National Assembly on Thursday and should later be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Members of the upper chamber of the parliament explained that the law was amended to discourage distractions in commercial vehicles and improve the safety of commuters.
In addition, motorists who fail to cooperate with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) during roadside breath tests conducted on reasonable suspicion are liable to fines or imprisonment or both.
Lawmakers noted that this was to improve compliance with road safety regulations and reduce road crashes, as fines for driving under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating drugs were raised to N100,000 from N5,000, with the risk of spending two years behind bars.
It was also proposed that disobedience to traffic lights, road signs, pavement markings and other traffic control devices will now attract N100,000, while the fine for speed limit violations is now N100,000, with reckless driving now a fine of N100,000 or two years’ imprisonment.
