The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) has signed an agreement with the Airport Taxi Operators, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to convert 800 vehicles to CNG to reduce transport fares.

Michael Oluwagbemi, programme director of P-CNGI, stated this at the agreement signing on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said there would be a 30 per cent discount on airport shuttle fares once implemented.

Represented by Folarin Oworo, P-CNGI’s programme execution coordinator, Mr Oluwagbemi said the conversion was in fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu’s promise to convert one million commercial vehicles to cushion high transportation fares due to fuel price increase.

“The airport taxi operators have about 800 fleet of vehicles, and we have agreed that once we hit 50 per cent conversion, which is about 400 vehicles, a 30 per cent discount will be implemented immediately.

“There are various prices based on the distance one is travelling, so the 30 per cent will be applied accordingly base on the current prices for the areas one is going.

“A red card with prices and discounts will also be available in the vehicle based on the passenger’s destination. And to ensure compliance, there will be regular monitoring for diligent delivery,” he said.

He said the P-CNGI had conversion partners with accredited centres to achieve the aim, adding that there were about seven refilling stations in Abuja against one being used when the programme commenced a year ago.

According to Mr Oluwagbemi, more stations are coming up as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), responsible for licensing new stations, has many approvals on that development.

He also allayed fears entertained by Nigerians about the explosion of CNG vehicles, saying such could only occur if the conversion was done illegally with locally manufactured cylinders.

“Cylinders used for CNG are practically bullet proof and cannot explode or break. So, we implored Nigerians not to cut corners.

“The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has also certified the CNG cylinders the P-CNGI is using. We guarantee in our conversion that an explosion cannot occur unless there is an intentional tampering with it.

“We have different sizes of cylinders – 65 and 75 litres to reduce the time of refilling. Going forward we will introduce various sizes and shapes to suit vehicles and loads to carry,” he said.

Responding, Aliyu Abdulaziz-Aliyu, the Airport Taxis Operators spokesman, lauded the P-CNGI for signing the agreement.

(NAN)