Nigerians to pay less for transportation with CNG buses — Minister

The Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that Nigerians will pay less for transportation with the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Finance, Stephen Kilebi, on Thursday.

Edun said this during a town hall meeting with the management and staff of the Ministry in Abuja.

The statement noted that the minister sought the cooperation and support of the staff to enable him to deliver on the mandate given him by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

It read, “The meeting, which was held at the instance of the minister, was aimed at exchanging views with the management and staff on how best to deliver on the mandate of the Ministry in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration.”

Edun further assured of continued staff welfare for better and more efficient service delivery.

The statement added, “He assured that staff welfare would be given  top most consideration to ease their suffering, disclosing that plans were  on the way for the provision of Compressed Natural Gas buses to alleviate  the suffering of Nigerians as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, stressing that with CNG buses Nigerians would pay less for transportation.”

One of the palliatives to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidies is to spend N100bn to acquire 3,000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.

In August, Tinubu established the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, targeting over 11,500 new CNG-enabled vehicles and 55,000 CNG conversion kits for existing PMS-dependent vehicles.

In October, Tinubu also announced the imminent introduction of Compressed Natural Gas conversion kits.

The president stressed the administration’s commitment to enhancing affordability and accessibility in public transportation.