The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has called on Nigerians to embrace using gas-powered vehicles to reduce dependency on petrol and diesel.

NADDC director-general Joseph Osanipin said this at an awareness and sensitisation workshop organised by the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Automotive Industry in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Osanipin said the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) of the current administration was a commitment to ease the impact of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians by reducing energy costs.

He said using gas-powered vehicles would also mitigate environmental concerns of greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Osanipin added that the NADDC was integrated into the PCNGI and that the council was already playing a leading role in implementing the PCNGI.

He said the NADDC was working with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to develop standards for installing CNG, the quality of the kits, and standards in dispensing and usage.

Mr Osanipin urged the participants to be prepared to acquire the knowledge needed to move to CNG, calling for bridging the gap between the sector’s development and our knowledge. He said to ensure skills development and international best practices in the country’s automotive industry, NADDC established 21 automotive training centres across the six geopolitical zones.

SSC president Francis Udeh, who spoke on the sidelines of the workshop, said it was the second in its series, with the first held in Lagos for the southern zone.

Mr Udeh said the workshop aimed to sensitise all relevant stakeholders on SSC’s roles, responsibilities, and objectives to get their support and buy-in.

He earlier called on all the participants to partner the SSC, saying it would give them the advantage of quality recognition. Mr Udeh assured participants that the SSC had well-trained quality assurance managers who would be at their disposal at the workshops for certification.

He called on the participants to embrace the opportunities offered by the council for continuous professional development.

Sandra Aguebor, the first lady mechanic in Nigeria, said she started empowering women in 2004, and presently, there are at least 2,000 female mechanics with different skills in the industry.

(NAN)