The Ekiti State Government and the National Automotive Design and Development Council have urged motorists and vehicle owners in the state to embrace the Compressed Natural Gas to power their automobiles, given the inherent advantages.
The state government and NADDC spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Tuesday, during the opening of a week-long skill development and training for auto technicians in the state on conversion of petrol vehicles to CNG-powered vehicles.
The training, a collaborative arrangement between NADDC and the state government, organised by Lanre Shittu Motors, was taking place just as the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative commenced the conversion of petrol-powered vehicles to CNG through the distribution of conversion kits in some states.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji, who lauded NADDC for the training, listed the benefits of the CNG initiative to include a “cleaner environment, cheaper fuel for the people and shared prosperity as many more people can be involved in the value chain.”
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Prof Mobolaji Aluko, said, “President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government and the state government have, in collaboration, ensured that Ekiti State is in the forefront of this endeavour (CNG) and we continue to ensure that our people get the best in terms of the advantages.”
The governor said the state was already using CNG to power its independent power plant, adding that, “CNG is not strange to us, we are just adding gas for mobile vehicles. We are already in a good position as far as CNG is concerned.
“The use of CNG will enable our people to have access to cheaper fuel to power their vehicles.”
On the availability of CNG conversion centres and refuelling stations in the state, Oyebanji said, “In addition to this centre (NADDC Automotive Training Centre), there will be at least three or four conversion centres in Ekiti State.
“Also, in addition to refuelling stations, there will be mobile stations. The state government would be at the forefront of ensuring that we have all these.”
The Director General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, said the training aimed at ensuring capacity building and skill upgrades for technicians and youths to enable them to cope with the dynamic automotive industry.
Osanipin, who said Tinubu established the PCNGI in furtherance of his commitment to ease the impact of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians, said there were benefits along the CNG value chain.
He said, “CNG is a cleaner energy source that is environmentally friendly. Gas is available in Nigeria in huge volumes and is cheaper to produce, as a kilogramme goes for N230. It will bring down the cost of transportation and the related effects and create a lot of employment.
“This is another avenue for us to share prosperity because there is a lot in the value chain that anyone can key into – the kits are being distributed, the cylinder, the conversion, the provision of the gas,” he said.
Osanipin charged the technicians to move with the innovations in the automotive industry through training and retraining, saying, “This training will help our technicians in no small way to know the opportunities that abound in the automotive industry.”
Representative of Lanre Shittu Motors, Akinyemi Akanni, said the training would empower the technicians.
He described the CNG as easy to use and safe, adding that the firm would carry out the training in all the geopolitical zones of the country.
Akanni said the company would give each trainee, on completion of the training, a special tools box worth about N2m each.
“We believe if we empower these youths, they will be able to move forward. As we do this, we call on the Federal Government to assist indigenous companies by lifting them,” he said.
The Ekiti State Chairman of the Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association, Olusoji Olusegun, thanked the Federal Government, the state government and Lanre Shittu Motors for the gesture.
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