The federal government has said Nigeria will save almost $2.5 billion every year from every one million vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).
Programme director and chief executive officer, the presidential CNG initiative (P-CNGi), Michael Oluwagbemi, spoke at the south-south stakeholders’ engagement meeting on the CNG initiative, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, on May 17.
Oluwagbemi noted thay CNG adoption will also reduce the pressure on foreign reserves and improve the value of the naira.
“For every 1,000,000 vehicles that Nigeria moves from petrol to natural gas, the nation is not just saving between $2.5 billion to $3 billion every year, we are also reducing the pressure on our foreign reserves, increasing the value of our currency, enhancing our export, we are creating jobs, we are enabling technology and innovation for our petroleum and clean energy sectors.
“We recognise that government alone can not provide all the money. We estimate that less than 20 percent of the financing of the sector will come from the government sector, rather more than 80 percent of this will come from private players” he said.
He said investment in CNG will provide energy security and make Nigerian goods and services competitive as they are being driven by affordable fuel.
He said Nigeria’s economy will be less exposed to cruel shocks experienced with the crude oil.
