The Federal Government says the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration would be used to reduce the cost of transportation by more than 50 per cent in the country.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said this during a meeting with the National Executive Committee of IPMAN in his office in Abuja on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

Idris commended the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for its efforts in championing the course of green energy introduced by the Federal Government following the removal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu.

The minister said the Federal Government aims to bring down the cost of transportation by over 50 per cent through the CNG Initiative.

He said: “In the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy, of course, it was expected that the price of PMS will go up. This will in turn affect the transportation cost for Nigerians going to and fro their various places of work.

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“The Federal Government immediately thought it wise, in addition to other measures, to introduce the CNG.  The CNG is expected to bring down the cost of transportation by more than 50 per cent and I am happy that IPMAN is at the forefront in this vanguard of achieving the CNG Initiative.”

He said President Tinubu’s bold move to remove the fuel subsidy has presented a unique opportunity for organisations like IPMAN to take the lead in shaping the energy landscape in Nigeria.

The minister stated that Nigeria as a nation has been looking for alternative ways of bringing down the cost of transportation, describing the CNG as the surest way to go.

Idris said, already, the Federal Government, in the first instance, has set aside N100 billion for the purchase of CNG buses and the establishment of CNG centres across the country.

This he said, was in addition to the introduction of tax waivers for the importers of CNG kits as well as other investors in the sub-sector.

While enlisting the support of IPMAN for the success of Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, the minister acknowledged the association for considering his ministry as well as its agencies as veritable partners in their desire to counter fake news being propagated on the activities of IPMAN.

In his remarks, IPMAN President, Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, pledged the support of the association for the  CNG Initiative and promised to complement the government in the green energy programme, which, he said, would give a boost to the realisation of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of the president.

The Star