Ogun to Release 100 CNG Buses, Sets Up Committee on Transport Fares

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, yesterday announced that his administration would make available 100 brand new 18-seater Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses for the use of transporters in the state.

The governor, who made this known in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, also said that the federal government would make available 20 CNG-enabled buses and 500 conversion kits to the state government during the week.

Abiodun disclosed this at a meeting with transport unions on how to ensure fair transportation pricing in the state.

He also announced the inauguration of an enforcement committee, comprising the State Police Commissioner, his counterpart in the Department of State Security Service (DSS), the Traffic Compliance Agency (TRACE), and heads of transport unions, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Transportation and Trade and Investment.

He said that the meeting was called because of events over the last week, including fuel scarcity, which he said is already abating, and the associated increase in the pump price of the product.

The governor noted that there has always been an astronomical rise in transport fares anytime there is a slight adjustment in the pump prices of fuel.

According to him, the federal government, led by President Bola Tinubu, is not unmindful of the impact of the recent hike in the pump price, adding that the government is putting in place measures to lessen the impact on the people.

He said: “The plans that we have as a state government, our plans are to, in the first instance, make 100 buses—100 18-seater buses—available to our transport unions.

“These will be 100 brand new CNG buses, and these buses will be brand new buses, not no-name buses. We are talking about Toyota Hiace buses that we will give to you under a purchase agreement.

“We will make them available to you, and you can pay in instalments over a period of time. You have demonstrated commitment and seriousness, and we are confident that when we give you these buses, you will utilise them responsibly and pay back on time.

“The federal government has also started an Energy Transition Programme through the Presidential CNG initiative, and I can confirm to you that the presidency has confirmed that they are making 20 buses available to Ogun State in the first instance—20 CNG buses. We will be getting those buses next week.

“They are also making 500 CNG conversion kits available to Ogun State for the immediate conversion of vehicles to CNG-enabled.

“I have been assured that the conversion kits, which is the first batch of 500, will reach us in the next five days. You know that we have a conversion centre in Ogun state. We are a major conversion centre for the Southwest, and we will begin the conversion of vehicles in accordance with how we agree in terms of scheduling who will come first and what vehicles we will begin to convert.”

Abiodun, while disclosing that the federal government was gradually leaving the business of sales and distribution of petroleum products to the private sector, noted that there was no need for transporters to increase transport fares by over 1000 per cent when the price of petrol was just increased by 30 per cent.

“We’ve seen in the past that when there is a change in pump prices by maybe 10 per cent, we have noticed that our transporters also naturally increase fares because the cost of their operational equipment—be it motorcycles, tricycles, trucks, or buses—is impacted.

“What we’ve noticed is that when there is a change in the pricing of petroleum products by 10 per cent to 20 per cent, the impact that we see play out at times is like 2000 per cent, and we want to dialogue to ensure the people are not stretched.

“The change in price is about 25 per cent or 30 per cent  so if pump prices have changed by like 25 per cent to 30 per cent, we should not see a difference in transport fares that is more than 25 per cent or 30 per cent,” he said.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Gbenga Dairo, while reminding transporters that fuel is just a component of their transportation cost, urged them to do all within their power to ensure that the people of the state are not over-stretched.