FG Urges Private Sector to Spearhead CNG Promotion

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged the private sector to play a leading role in actualising the federal government’s initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the country.

He stated this yesterday in Abuja at the commissioning of the ABG CNG Plant and graduation of 40 CNG conversion technicians.

The minister who described the effort of the ABG group as noble and timely said the CNG had come to stay as a more cost-effective means in the transportation sector.

He praised the foresight of President Bola Tinubu in leading the way towards the adoption of the CNG as a dominant alternative to premium motor spirit or petrol in powering commercial and private vehicles.

“The CNG is the future and it is therefore important for Nigerian entrepreneurs to seize advantage of government policy on the CNG by investing in the human and material assets required to grow its infrastructure across Nigeria,” Idris said.

He said the government of Tinubu has so far committed the sum of N100 billion in the first instance, towards the CNG, adding that its inherent opportunities appealed to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and aided in their softening of grounds with the federal government.

Chairman of the ABG Group,  Bawa Garba, said the CNG remains a clean energy solution requiring government support and patronage to become immersive and showcase Nigeria as a “gas nation.”

“Our group is thankful to President Tinubu for the bold decision to adopt CNG. We are always a pioneering company, and our involvement in the CNG initiative is underscored by training multitudes of CNG conversion engineers across Nigeria,” Garba said.