President Bola Tinubu on Monday reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to revolutionising Nigeria’s transportation sector and addressing climate change concerns as he inaugurated 30 hybrid Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses in Abuja.
THE WHISTLER reports that this came months after the president’s announcement at COP28 in December 2023 that Nigeria would deploy 100 electric buses as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and modernize its transportation system.
The 30 new buses, donated by the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), were designed, manufactured, and delivered by Innoson Motors — a Nigerian company based in Nnewi, Anambra State.
“Utilizing natural gas to power our transportation industry is the next way to go,” President Tinubu stated during the inauguration ceremony.
“With our gas, if we work harder, to be productive and innovative, utilising CNG vehicles is an economic necessity that we should embrace.
“If we can enhance our energy competitiveness and bring about transformative changes like this, we will definitely be able to achieve the prosperity that we are working hard to accomplish for our people.
“Countries like India have mandated the use of CNG for commercial vehicles since 2004 and in Nigeria, commercial vehicles make up about 80 percent of our petrol demand costing us trillions of Naira each month.
“The solution is here. We have it, we will work on it. We promise you, definitely things will get better, prosperity will be achieved,” Tinubu said at the inauguration of the new buses.
Mrs. Winifred Akpani, Chairman of DAPPMAN, spoke on the capabilities of the new buses: “These are hybrid buses that will run on CNG. Each of these buses is capable of transporting 100 people and they also have alternative use of diesel.
“They are hybrid buses and we are very happy today that we are able to present this first batch. And we continue to assure this government of our full support as marketers.
“We will continue to go the extra mile to ease the problems of all of us, not just the downtrodden but everybody,” she said.
She said DAPPMAN had made provision to train two drivers for each of the buses at the facility where the buses were manufactured.
“We request that whoever gets the buses at the end should contact DAPPMAN so that we can arrange for the training, because we think it is very important that these buses are properly handled for durability.
“We are very sure that this will contribute to bringing down transportation costs, and we know that if transportation costs come down, food and so many other things will follow.
“So, on behalf of DAPPMAN, we are very happy to present this set of buses to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” said Akpani.
The gradual shift to CNG-powered vehicles will undoubtedly complement the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan, which focuses on leveraging natural gas as a transition fuel alongside other renewable energy sources.
To ensure the success of this initiative, President Tinubu had established an inter-governmental committee on carbon markets, chaired by Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC).
The committee was tasked with driving the implementation of enabling policies and frameworks to catalyze the growth of the carbon market within Nigeria.
Tinubu, during the Climate Change conference, had said the project was more than just a pilot, saying the initiative was part of the efforts to position “Nigeria and Africa as the pioneering frontier of green manufacturing and industrialisation”.
According to him, “Our visionary plan is a strategic guidepost, directing Nigeria towards becoming an investment-friendly destination for carbon market investments.
“We recognize the imperative of fostering an environment that not only attracts investment but also upholds standardized and sustainable industrial practices.
Tinubu’s Green Transport Vision Takes Off As Innoson Delivers 30 Nigerian-Made CNG Buses is first published on The Whistler Newspaper