By Adedapo Adesanya
The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has commenced the distribution of 1,000 conversion kits across some states in the federation to minimise the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja to mark the commencement of the distribution of one thousand conversion kits across some states, the Programme Director of the initiative, Mr Michael Oluwagbemi said the move will bring down transportation costs.
According to him, the initiative will generate over 100,000 direct jobs over the next three years, as it aims to convert about three million vehicles within the same period.
Mr Oluwagbemi revealed that commercial transport operators will be converted free of charge to minimise the impact of the fuel subsidy by bringing down the cost of transportation.
Also speaking, the Warehouse Manager of the PiCN facility, Mr Moses Onate, while unveiling to newsmen some of the conversation kits at their warehouse in Ibafo, Ogun State, said the distribution is being carried out under a codename First Come First Serve.
He said 450 conversion kits had already been given out to states, with an additional 550 awaiting distribution.
Mr Onate emphasised the need for Nigerians to embrace the initiative, highlighting its potential to significantly reduce the cost of fuel to power vehicles.
The conversion kits are designed to enable vehicles to run on compressed natural gas, a cleaner and more affordable alternative to petrol.
It is expected that with the hike in fuel prices, this will incentivise more Nigerians to convert to alternative fuel, which costs around one-third of petrol and diesel.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka