- By Demi Aderibigbe
The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG) has called for more private sector participation in the CNG value-chain, especially in the establishment of more Conversion Centres across the country.
The Programme Director/Chief Executive of the Presidential Initiative on CNG, Mr. Michael Oluwagbemi, made the appeal yesterday, while commissioning the TeeJay Motors Ltd, CNG Conversion Centre, located at Cele Bus Stop, on the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, Lagos.
Oluwagbemi, who was represented by the Pi-CNG Regional Director, South West, Mrs Ogonna Onyemelukwe, said to meet the presidential directive to convert one million vehicles to CNG by 2026, the scheme would require a minimum of 150,000 to 200,000 Centres and a minimum of two million conversion technicians.
According to him, though Nigerians had been on the gas journey before now, the Tinubu administration is taking practical steps in making the gas sub-sector attractive.
He noted that Nigeria with over three trillion cubic feet of clean gas, have no business suffering energy crisis, adding that Nigeria is ninth out of 150 gas-rich nations in the world and the first gas-rich nation on the African continent.
Oluwagbemi lauded TeeJay Motors Chairman, Adekunle Tijani, for keying into the new policy direction of the government presidential directive and investing massively, by opening a conversion centre on the Apapa/Oshodi axis.
According to him, between May 2023 till date, no fewer than 55 conversion centres have sprang up in the Southwest alone and close to a dozen in the Lagos area, with many more waiting to commence operation.
He urged Nigerians to maximally support the cleaner gas initiative as a source of transmission fuel for the huge benefits it entails for the economy.
The Pi-CNG External Adviser, Mr Phillip Jegede, assured Nigerians of the safety of the CNG, which he said “is lighter and dissipates faster than petrol, diesel or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).”
He described the CNG tube as bullet proof and appropriately reinforced to protect against explosion and other incidents.
Giving an overview of the new project, which is a subsidiary of Teejay Motors, the Managing Director of FirstCor, Adeshina Banire, said the company envisaged much more than a conversion centre, and by March, it will begin the training of certified conversion technicians, even as plans are on to for Teejay Motors to start assembling CNG vehicles.
He disclosed that conversion cost would range between N600 and N1 million at Teejay Motors.
Banire however listed the greatest challenge confronting the government regarding the product as product accessibility. “Without ready accessibility of gas at either the mother or daughter stations, it would be difficult to see massive gas penetration across the country,” Banire said.
Despite this challenge however, he said CNG is very cheap and affordable as you will need about eight litres of gas which is just about N7,800 to go for over 150kms.
Disabusing Nigerians on the safety of the CNG, he said: “The CNG is 18 times safer than petrol and eight times safer than diesel. The cylinder is between 200 to 300 pci, which is more reinforced than the LPG tube to withstand the pressure and hold the pressure.
Banire, who is the project coordinator, said the Teejay Motors Conversion Centre would generate no fewer than 100 direct jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs when it fully commences operation.
He lauded the Teejay Motors Chairman for his dogged determination, support and willingness to partner the government and other critical stakeholders to bring CNG conversion closer to the people around Cele and the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway area.
Representative of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr Oloruntoba Ogunmola, said the agency is happy to come in as strategic partner in the CNG initiative adding that NADDC can assure that every kits that would be used at the centre are certified and meets acceptable global standard.
Representative of the Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Mr Busuyi Michael Ojo said the Institute would continue to partner the centre in order to ensure it complies with safety standards, and ensure continuous training and certification of conversion technicians.
Team Lead of Universal Automotive Training Academy (UATA), Dr Benedict Okoh, describes what UATA does as more than conversion, but rather the building of hybrid vehicles that can use either petrol or gas without any drop in speed and efficiency.
Okoh who carried out a live demonstration of one vehicle just converted applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for coming up with the CNG initiative, adding that with the hybrid system, motorists would have no fear of being stranded should be gas suddenly got finished as you can switch seamless from one energy source to the other.
Earlier, daughter of the Chairman, Miss Khadijat Tijani said the conversion centre is a way of ensuring the success of the presidential initiative, adding that Teejay Motors, which is a major partner of LAMATA on the BRT has remained in the forefront of contributing to logistics and transportation solutions.
