PCNGI, Airport Taxi Drivers Sign MoU to Convert Vehicles to CNG

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) and airport taxi drivers yesterday signed a deal that would see the latter convert their vehicles to the cheaper gas fuel in Abuja for free.
The federal government is looking to convert about 1 million vehicles in the first phase of the programme, as petrol prices continue to choke motorists across the country.
CNG is considered cheaper, cleaner and more efficient and the Nigerian government had recently continued to push for its adoption nationwide to wean the country of expensive petrol.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Chief Executive of PCNGI, Michael Oluwagbemi, noted that deal would see the reduction in the cost of airport taxi for commuters.
Represented by Folarin Oworu, the coordinator of the presidential CNG office explained that the agreement will also lead to the reduction of transport fares from the airport by 30 per cent.
He added that the MoU signing was to ensure that the agreement was documented, leading to free conversion for all the beneficiaries.
 “I carry the taxi services from the airport back into town, all around Abuja, the capital. One of the things that we try to do with them is to recognise them as commercial transporters and include them in our CNG programme, which is free conversion for all commercial vehicles.
“Second, it is also to find a way to agree a discount on the existing rates. So we’ve had a lot of back and forth negotiations and I’m glad that we’ve come to an agreement. And this is also a signing ceremony, documenting our agreement in terms of the reduction.
“ We’ve come to a 30 per cent discount on airport fares from Abuja airport to Abuja metropolis. All of that is documented in the agreement here and then we will sign it.
“Also, the terms and conditions under which our agreement is to be enforced is also documented here. We prefer it to be a 30 per cent discount,” he stated.
 Also speaking, spokesman of Airport Cabs Operators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abdulaziz Aliu, lauded the deal, stressing that passengers will enjoy cheaper services once the programme takes off.
“We appreciate you for signing this agreement for the purpose of which the federal government has introduced this thing for us and we said now that we have alternative to petrol, our price is going to come down with 30 per cent  and passengers will enjoy our services more than before.
“With the signing of this agreement today, we are looking forward to see most of our vehicles converted within a short time, maybe within two or three weeks. As far as we see, the airport taxi price will drastically come down and passengers can patronise us more than the others cabs,” he stated.
While appreciating President Bola Tinubu for the programme, he noted that the conversion of vehicles free of charge will go a long way to ameliorating the hardship faced by airport commuters.

“We appreciate the presidential CNG office and we are also using this medium to appreciate the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Tinubu for this new introduction of converting our vehicles from petrol to CNG free of charge,“ he noted.

Also speaking, Yunus Selma, of Selma Autos, said that based on the agreement signed by PCNGI and the Airport Taxi Group, the Conversion Centre was fully ready to convert all the available cars.

“And we have all it takes to convert the cars. And I want to also appreciate the PCNGI for their cooperation so far,” he stated.