The Federal Government has concluded plans to roll out 9000 autogas filling stations from the existing 10,000 retail outlets across the country under the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) within the next six months.
Chairman of the NGEP, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, who disclosed this at the weekend said the NGEP has gone very far in reflating the economy by leveraging on the nation’s gas resources despite the frustration of its activities by the subsidy cabals and some stakeholders who said the gas expansion programme would never work.
He spoke just as the N250bn NGEP fund remained dormant in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the past four years over stringent conditions attached to it.
Ibrahim spoke in Lagos during the Annual Training Workshop of the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) with the theme, “Fuel Subsidy Removal: Autogas/Electric Vehicles as Alternatives”.
The NGEP was conceived to serve as a catalyst for adding value to the vast natural gas reserves Nigeria is endowed with.
The Chairman who was the guest speaker at the workshop insisted that gas was cheaper and more environmentally friendly for vehicles following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.
He stated that the promise of the Tinubu-led administration to create 100 million jobs was achievable with the gas expansion programme, saying the multi-fuel scheme which enables vehicle owners to fill their tank with liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) as well as the conventional premium motor spirit would take off in the next 6 months despite resistance from some stakeholders.