The Federal Government has officially launched its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Conversion Incentive Program in eight states and aims to extend the initiative to nine additional states by the end of 2024.
The program is now active in Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Kogi, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Nasarawa.
According to a statement from the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, the next phase will roll out the program in Kwara, Ekiti, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Enugu.
The statement explained, “We have successfully launched the Conversion Incentive Program in eight states: Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Kogi, FCT, and Nasarawa. We plan to activate the program in an additional nine states – Kwara, Ekiti, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Enugu – before the end of 2024.”
The statement also noted that while there are intentions to implement the program nationwide, the complexity of the rollout requires a phased approach rather than simultaneous implementation across all 36 states and the FCT.
Key Details:
- Program Overview: The CNG Conversion Incentive Program, led by PCNGi, aims to reduce the impact of rising fuel costs and encourage the use of cleaner energy for transportation. It offers incentives for converting petrol-powered vehicles to CNG, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly fuel.
- Launch Dates: The program began on September 13, 2024, in Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states, with an expansion to Kaduna and Abuja on September 14, 2024.
- Incentives: The program includes free CNG kits for the first 50 vehicles at each designated conversion center. Converted vehicles can refuel at NIPCO stations at a rate of N230 per SCM of CNG, providing significant savings compared to petrol.
- Infrastructure: In June 2024, twelve new CNG stations were inaugurated in Lagos and Abuja, a joint effort with NNPC and NIPCO Gas. Additionally, in July 2024, PCNGi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to convert one million commercial vehicles to CNG by 2027 and established 2,000 workshops to support the initiative.
