Ismaeel Ahmed, Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG), has called for a policy mandating the conversion of commercial vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric vehicles (EVs).
Gatekeepers News reports that Ahmed made the proposal during an interview on Arise News on Monday, arguing that greater adoption of alternative fuels would make transportation cleaner, cheaper and more affordable for Nigerians.
“Natural gas should be our fuel of choice. This should have started 10 years ago. We are going to try and convince the government to make a policy that all commercial vehicles should convert to natural gas or electric vehicles so that people will move cleaner, cheaper, and it will be affordable,” he said.
He also urged Nigeria to preserve its crude oil for export while relying more on natural gas domestically to reduce the country’s exposure to fluctuations in global oil prices.
“Let’s sell our oil to the foreigners and earn money for it, and let’s use this and insulate ourselves from the vagaries of global oil prices and any skirmishes that might come internationally and send us on a tailspin domestically,” Ahmed said.
The Pi-CNG chairman said CNG supply in Nigeria would soon surpass petrol availability as the country expands its gas infrastructure and accelerates vehicle conversions nationwide.
On concerns about the safety of CNG vehicle conversions, Ahmed expressed confidence in conversions carried out at centres approved by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), using kits certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
“I am absolutely confident that whoever converts his or her vehicle under the approved conversion center by NADDC, with the certified conversion kits by SON that we have accredited as well, will not have any problem with safety,” he said.
Ahmed, however, warned motorists against patronising unapproved conversion centres or using inappropriate equipment, particularly LPG cylinders, in CNG-powered vehicles.
“There are people who are quacks sitting on the side of the road who try to game the system. There are always people who will try to game the system, right?
“And for every incident that we have, we have investigated, we’re using the police or whichever authority that is there. It always comes down to the point that somebody is picking an LPG gas cylinder from home and thinking that the same cylinder of LPG can work for CNG.”
He said relevant authorities, including the police, were working to clamp down on unapproved CNG conversion centres.
Ahmed consequently urged motorists to patronise only approved conversion facilities, stressing that CNG equipment could be hazardous if not installed according to established safety procedures.
