The Federal Ministry of Youth Development has announced the launch of its Compressed Natural Gas e-portal for youths in the commercial transport sector, particularly those interested in operating CNG-powered tricycles across the country.
Minister of State for Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande unveiled the portal in Abuja on Monday at a press conference.
On October 1, 2024, the federal government, through the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi) and the ministry, unveiled the distribution of 2,000 CNG-powered tricycles to empower Nigerian youths.
He said through the portal, youth anywhere from across Nigeria could sign up to be merged with aggregators or owners who work directly with the Presidential CNG Initiative (P-CNGi) Programme, while beginning the process of becoming owners themselves.
He explained that the Ministry has designed the Youth Portal specifically intended to create opportunities for a greater number of youth to participate in the process.
He urged youth with an interest in the sector and palliative programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign up for the initiative via www.youthcng.ng or www.pci.gov.ng
The minister noted that the mandate of the Ministry of Youth Development in respect of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu is to reduce unemployment in Nigeria by equipping young people with skills and empowerment to be self-reliant and employers of labour.
He said: “In simple terms, what we aim to achieve with the youth portal we are about to launch is to build transparency around the process of enlisting youth into the Presidential CNG Initiative in the transportation sector.
“What this means is that we are opening the process, and any young person willing and ready to take advantage of the programme can participate.”
Olawande said that this was consistent with the aspiration of President Tinubu who desires that all government programmes and initiatives of government offer the same level of opportunity to everyone either rich or poor, low or high.
“Like I have always said, no young person in this country would need to know any godfather to benefit from the programmes of the Ministry of Youth Development. The youth portal we are launching today again reconfirms that promise of ensuring equal access to all our initiatives and programmes
“I, therefore, use this opportunity to call on all youth who work within the commercial transportation sector, or those who have an interest in joining the sector to enlist for the benefits provided through the Presidential Initiative on CNG as a significant component of the palliative programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Also speaking, the Programme Director and Chief Executive Officer of P-CNGi, Michael Oluwagbemi, represented by Mr Tosin Coker, described CNG as “the future of the nation.”
He added: “Indeed, CNG is the future of Nigeria, just as the youths are the future of this nation. By embracing CNG, we are building a cleaner environment as we move away from PMS and diesel.
“We are also saving the nation in terms of the costs previously spent on petrol subsidies, which have been draining the country’s resources for so long. So, what we are doing here is not just a handout; it’s something deeper. As I mentioned, the youth are our future, and it is up to all of us to do what we can for them.”
National President of the National Commercial Tricycle & Motorcycle Owners & Riders Association (NACTOMORAS), Sani Hassan commended the Federal Government for the initiative while assuring the minister of the readiness of the association to support the Ministry of Youth Development towards the success of the programme.
He pledged to mobilise members of NACTOMORAS across the country to fully subscribe to the programme to benefit from the Presidential palliative in the transport sector.
Hassan pledged the commitment of the association to ensure prompt repayment, saying he was aware that the CNG-powered tricycles were not being distributed for free.
The Nation
