By Chimezie Godfrey
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has said that the Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N250bn to assist Nigerians who are willing to invest in autogas assembly plants.
He made the assertion on Tuesday in at the Autogas Technicians Training and Certification Programme with the theme,”The Critical Role of Auto-Mechanics in Autogas Vehicle Conversion in Nigeria.”
The minister, who was represented by the Senior Technical Adviser on Referendum, Mr Umar Gwandu, said this is part of government efforts to ensure that the autogas conversion of vehicles yielded the desired results.
According to him, the money was already in the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and those interested in opening conversion centres could access it.
Sylva noted that the decision to make the money available was necessitated by the huge amount spent by government on fuel subsidy, adding that it was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to adopt gas as an alternative fuel for the nation.
He said,”The amount of money government is spending on fuel subsidy is high so the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, in a bid to ease the pains of Nigerians, decided to look inward and evolved ways to reduce the cost.
“If we focus on moving from fossil fuel to Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), it will save us a lot of money because the benefits are enormous.
“Apart from the fact that autogas is cheaper, we are also concerned about making the conversion of cars affordable so that Nigerians can indeed reap the advantage of this new policy.”
The Minister stressed that the conversion is an indication of the seriousness of the new government initiative, while urging Nigerians to embrace gas-powered vehicles as they are cheaper and more environment friendly.
The Minister who pledged the support of the ministry to the project, cautioned autogas technicians to ensure that converted vehicles functioned properly and were well-maintained.
In his remark, Chairman, Autogas Technology Education and Research Advisory Board, Mr Robinson Elijah encouraged Nigerians and other stakeholders to take advantage of the project.
He reiterated the commitment of the board to maximise the investment, while relying on the experience garnered over the years to ensure that the project was successful.
Newsdiaryonline reports that the training programme had commenced a few days earlier.At least 10,000 Nigerian technicians will benefit from the training across the country.
