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The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas, Pi-CNG, Ismaeel Ahmed, has called for a policy mandating the conversion of all commercial vehicles to compressed natural gas, CNG, or electric vehicles.
Mr Ahmed said the move would help reduce transportation costs, improve air quality and shield Nigerians from the impact of fluctuations in global crude oil prices.
He spoke in an interview with Arise News on Monday.
“Natural gas should be our fuel of choice. This should have started 10 years ago.
“We are going to try and convince the government to make a policy that all commercial vehicles should convert to natural gas or electric vehicles so that people will move cleaner, cheaper, and it will be affordable,” he said.
Mr Ahmed said Nigeria should increase domestic use of natural gas while exporting crude oil to generate foreign exchange.
“Let’s sell our oil to the foreigners and earn money for it, and let’s use this and insulate ourselves from the vagaries of global oil prices and any skirmishes that might come internationally and send us on a tailspin domestically,” he said.
The Pi-CNG chairman also said CNG supply in Nigeria would soon surpass petrol availability as the country expands its gas infrastructure and increases vehicle conversions.
On concerns over the safety of CNG vehicle conversions, Ahmed said motorists using approved conversion centres and certified equipment had little to fear.
He said conversion centres approved by the National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, and kits certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, met the required safety standards.
“I am absolutely confident that whoever converts his or her vehicle under the approved conversion centre by NADDC, with the certified conversion kits by SON that we have accredited as well, will not have any problem with safety,” he said.
Mr Ahmed, however, warned motorists against patronising unapproved conversion centres or using equipment not designed for CNG vehicles.
“There are people who are quacks sitting on the side of the road who try to game the system. There are always people who will try to game the system,” he said.
He said investigations into CNG-related incidents had shown cases where motorists used LPG cylinders in CNG-powered vehicles.
“For every incident that we have, we have investigated, we’re using the police or whichever authority that is there. It always comes down to the point that somebody is picking an LPG gas cylinder from home and thinking that the same cylinder of LPG can work for CNG,” he said.
Mr Ahmed said security agencies, particularly the police, were working to clamp down on unapproved CNG conversion centres.
He urged motorists to patronise only approved conversion centres, warning that CNG equipment could be hazardous if improperly installed or handled.
