From Idu Jude, Abuja
The federal government has said it is considering the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which the country has in abundance to reposition the transportation sector in urban cities across the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adewole Adegoroye, when he received the report on the “Implementation Report on National Strategy Development for the Adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) based for Transportation System in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.
“I assure you that Nigerians must say something about us that when we were here, that we took steps to getting things done & being in tandem with what the world wants or what the world desires at this time,” the minister said.
Speaking further, the minister said that greenhouse gas emissions pose health and dire environmental consequences and Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind considering that she is a signatory to the Green House Emission Policy aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the environment.
Presenting the report to the Minister earlier, the Permanent Secretary stated that the report was sponsored by World Bank and done by Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), through the Federal Ministry of Environment with highlights on strategic steps to take in the adoption of CNG vehicles in the transportation sector in the country.
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Ajani said: “It would help us in kick-starting the revolution in the change of the transport sector, with vehicle conversion to CNG on the adoption of CNG vehicles, for our road transport mode within the urban city to start with,” Ajani said.
Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary stated that the “Original Equipment Manufacturers in a couple of years down will probably not be supporting vehicles that are powered by diesel or gas as everyone is moving towards Electric Vehicles (EV)” adding that the report takes into cognisance how Nigeria can move from diesel and Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) to natural gas and in about 10 to 15 years.
It will be recalled that in May 2019, the Federal Executive Council of Ministers approved a National Action Plan to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. This plan, developed by the Federal Ministry of Environment, aims to improve air quality and reduce Nigeria’s contribution to climate change, through 22 specific mitigation measures in 8 source sectors (transportation, cooking and lighting in households, industry, waste, oil and gas, agriculture, power and HFCs) with the Federal Ministry of Transportation vested with the task of coordinating the implementation of these mitigating measures.