The CNG buses were presented to Pacesetter Transport Service (PTS), an agency of the state government

The Oyo State Government has received 20 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses from the federal government to ease the pressure brought on commuters by the increase in petrol price.

Micheal Oluwagbemi, the chief executive officer and programme director of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI), presented the buses to the Pacesetter Transport Service (PTS), an agency of the state government, in Eleyele, Ibadan.

"We present these 20 buses as part of a sustainable partnership with Pacesetter Transport Service to generate income, as they are valuable assets.

"We need more such investments to ensure a more sustainable mass transit system, contributing to a brighter future for the state and Nigeria," he said.

Mr Oluwagbemi said President Bola Tinubu had urged technicians and engineers to use gas resources to advance the transportation industry.

"We are starting to take the right steps, though it requires us to endure some challenges. We cannot return to subsidising our own impoverishment. As a team, we are committed to this effort."

Ibraheem Salami, chairman and sole administrator of PTS, accepted the CNG buses on behalf of the state government and thanked the federal government and Mr Tinubu for the initiative.

He said that the agency had only five operational buses when he took office, but the number has since increased to 81.

Mr Salami said CNG is the best solution to the state's transportation problems, noting that Governor Seyi Makinde backs the project to mitigate the effects of subsidy removal.

He requested that the P-CNGI provide an additional 100 CNG buses to cover more routes within the state.