The Federal Executive Council has directed that all new vehicles, generators or tricycles procured by government and its agencies must be powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), solar or electric.
This is in line with the administration’s commitment to ensure energy security, drive utility and cut high fuel cost in the country.
The council, chaired by President Bola Tinubu, at the State House on Monday, reiterated that there was no turning back in the energy reforms initiated by the administration.
It also ordered all government ministries, departments and agencies to henceforth procure only compressed-natural-gas-powered vehicles.
“The President’s directive is also in furtherance of Nigeria’s effort to transit 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.
“This nation will not progress 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,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale had said in a statement.
He said this was line with the President’s commitment 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.
Affected by the order, according to sources, are new requests by Nigeria Customs Service and the Shipper’s Council, an agency of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which had sought approval to buy several hundreds of operational vehicles to be powered by petrol.
The council approved the requests but said they must be CNG vehicles.
The Tinubu administration, which launched the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) in October 2023, plans to roll out about 800 CNG buses, 4,000 CNG tricycles and 100 electric buses in the first phase in the next few weeks.
“Government believes its policy will unlock new investments in renewable energy, solar panels and lithium batteries.
“It also believes that the policy will be climate friendly and reduce inflation as it will slash costs by about 60 per cent,” the source said.(NAN)