The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has announced plans to convert 100,000 vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) in the next 18 months.
Charles Odii, Director General of SMEDAN, spoke at the unveiling of a CNG conversion and training centre located at the SMEDAN headquarters in Abuja.
Odii said the initiative, which is in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on the Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) and Rolling Energy, will support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
"By adopting CNG, we are helping SMEs cut costs while promoting sustainable energy practices. This effort is particularly timely as businesses face rising fuel costs following subsidy removal and we intend to champion the conversion of 1,000 vehicles to CNG here," he said.
Toks Omishakin, California's Secretary of Transportation, applauded Nigeria's efforts in adopting cleaner energy alternatives such as CNG, but urged stakeholders to look beyond CNG and invest in long-term renewable solutions.
On his part, Toyin Zubair, Executive Vice Chairman of the PCNGi, emphasised the need to harness Nigeria's vast natural gas resources to drive the economy.
