LAGOS, Sept 15 (AGCNewsNet) - The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Conversion Incentive Program in eight states, with plans to expand the initiative to nine additional states by the end of 2024. The program, designed to promote cleaner and more affordable fuel alternatives, is part of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi).

The states where the program has been activated include Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to a statement from PCNGi posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday as seen by AGCNewsNet.

The next phase will see the program rolled out in Kwara, Ekiti, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Enugu by the end of 2024. PCNGi emphasised that while there are plans to implement the program nationwide, the scale of the project requires a phased approach to ensure efficient execution.

“We have successfully activated the Conversion Incentive Program in 8 states: Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Kogi, FCT, and Nasarawa. An additional 9 states – Kwara, Ekiti, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Enugu – are slated for activation before the end of 2024,” the statement read.

Launched on September 13, 2024, with Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo as the pilot states, the CNG Conversion Incentive Program aims to reduce the burden of rising fuel costs by encouraging vehicle owners and fleet operators to switch from petrol to CNG, a cheaper and environmentally sustainable alternative. The initiative expanded to Kaduna and Abuja on September 14, 2024.

As part of the program, PCNGi offers free CNG conversion kits to the first 50 vehicles deemed eligible at designated conversion centres. Vehicle owners who switch to CNG will be able to refuel at N230 per SCM of CNG at any NIPCO station, significantly lowering their fuel costs compared to petrol.

In June 2024, twelve new CNG stations were inaugurated in Lagos and Abuja through a partnership between NNPC and NIPCO Gas. Additionally, PCNGi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in July 2024 to convert one million commercial vehicles to CNG by 2027, with 2,000 workshops selected to support this large-scale project.

The Federal Government’s phased rollout of the CNG program is part of a broader push to adopt cleaner energy solutions and address environmental concerns while offering Nigerians relief from fluctuating fuel prices.