From Samuel Bello, Abuja 

 

The Senate would soon enact a bill banning vehicles that run on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Oluremi Tinubu, dropped the hint, yesterday, at the 11th National Stakeholders’ Forum, on the theme, “Environmental Governance, a key to achieving green economy,” in Abuja.

Represented by the Committee’s Vice Chairman, Foster Ogolor, Tinubu said the implications of gas emissions to the ozone layer were such that Nigeria must follow other progressive nations in adopting hydrocarbon gas.

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 According to him, “When we are discussing the environment and greening the economy for sustainable development, there has to be a legislation on ensuring all industries in Nigeria are running on green fuel, solar energy and other alternative systems.

“We need to strengthen NESREA. We also need a law that says in the next three years, all automobiles in Nigeria must use gas and other non-fuel systems, fuel cells, solar power and the rest.

“The time to set the framework is now; if we don’t do that now we would delay dooms day, other countries have setup their green policies economies and Nigerians cannot drive their cars to such countries. India today, all the tricycle and all the public transport systems go on compressed gas.

 “The standard needs to be set in Nigeria. The European Union (EU) have set their own standards that in less than 10years, we would not have anything to do with petroleum products as sources of fuel except compressed natural gas or natural gas as it is in the air.

“If we don’t get it right through the law and penalties set in that law; to punitively punish those who disobeyed it, we would not get to where we want.”