The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), which both sought approval of the Federal Government to buy several hundreds of petrol-powered operational vehicles, have instead been directed to acquire Compressed Natural Gas, CNG-powered vehicles.
The directive was handed down to the agencies on Monday at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
The FEC also mandated all other government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to, going forward, procure only vehicles and generators powered by CNG.
The Federal Government also expects it’s MDAs to begin converting all petrol or diesel-powered vehicles or generators to CNG.
The directive is in furtherance of Nigeria’s effort to transition to cleaner energy as CNG-enabled vehicles have been adjudged to produce lower emissions, even as they present a more affordable alternative for Nigerian energy consumers.
Addressing members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the State House on Monday, President Tinubu affirmed that there is no turning back in the energy reforms initiated by his administration.
“This nation will not progress forward if we continue to dance on the same spot. We have the will to drive the implementation of CNG adoption across the country, and we must set the example as public officials in leading the way to that prosperous future that we are working to achieve for our people. It starts with us, and in seeing that we are serious, Nigerians will follow our lead,” the President stated.
The President further directed the rejection of all memos brought by members of FEC seeking the purchase of traditional petrol-dependent vehicles, tasking the affected members of the council to go back and diligently seek value-driven procurements of CNG-compliant vehicles.
“The President remains committed to effectively harnessing the nation’s gas potential, alleviating the burden of high transportation costs on the masses while enhancing the standard of living of all Nigerians,” Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, said.
