Chukwu Obinna 
Compressed natural gas vehicle conversion kit used in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu has ordered the nationwide deployment of about 100,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion kits in a bid to ease the burden of rising fuel prices on Nigerians.
The directive was announced on Tuesday by Ismaeel Ahmed, Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG), after a meeting with the President at the State House in Abuja.
Ahmed says the kits will be distributed across the country within two to three weeks, allowing vehicle owners to convert their engines from petrol or diesel to natural gas.
“The President, as usual, is always trying to get information on what is going on, especially with the war in the Middle East and the rising cost of petrol and diesel,” Ahmed says.
“He wanted to know what we are doing at Pi-CNG and EV to scale up the availability of gas and CNG everywhere in the country so that people would have less cost of transportation.”
According to Ahmed, the kits will be distributed in collaboration with multiple stakeholders and targeted mainly at commercial transport operators, including tricycle riders and vehicle owners.
“So we have about 100,000 kits that we’re going to deploy in the next two to three weeks. The conversion centres will all be bustling with a lot of activities,” he says.
The directive follows concerns that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could push global fuel prices higher, increasing transportation costs in Nigeria.
Analysts say the government’s push for compressed natural gas forms part of broader efforts to diversify Nigeria’s energy mix and reduce reliance on petrol following subsidy removal.
Officials believe expanding CNG infrastructure could significantly lower transport costs while supporting cleaner energy alternatives.
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Oluwafunbi Bello 
Korede Abdullah