DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed frustration over delays they experience in the ongoing conversion of their vehicles from petrol model to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) model, in line with the federal government’s new policy.
Some operators of commercial vehicles in the nation’s capital, who spoke to our reporter on the situation in Abuja, noted that it takes a whole day to convert one or two fuel model vehicles to a CNG model vehicle, which they noted is frustrating and discouraging.
In an interview, the chairman of Abuja Painted Taxi (PAT), Comrade Shehu Shugaba Yar’Adua, disclosed that at the moment, engineers at the installation centres cannot convert more than two or three vehicles from petrol model to CNG model in a day.
“We have a situation where the engineers doing the conversion of vehicles from petrol model to CNG model at the installation centres in the FCT, cannot convert more than two or three vehicles in a day, in each of the centres.
This is frustrating and discouraging. So, what they need is to improve on their speed, so that they can convert at least four or five vehicles in a day
Infact, if they have about five engineers in each of the conversion centres, they can convert about 10 vehicles in each of the centres in a day, and reduce the number of vehicles waiting on the queue.”
Yar’Adua maintained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to work with transporters in the country to ensure that the cost of transportation is drastically reduced, which would ultimately led to reduction in the cost of commodities in the market.
He disclosed that the federal government has given the Abuja Painted Taxi (PAT) an opportunity to convert 100 vehicles belonging to its members, from fuel model to CNG model at no cost to members.
Yar’Adua added that for those members who may not be among the first 100 beneficiaries, the federal government has also given them a 50 percent discount rate to convert their vehicles to the CNG model, adding that this is to encourage members to convert their vehicles to CNG model so as to bring down the cost of transportation and reduce cost of goods and services in the country.
He continued , “Yes, if we convert our vehicles to CNG model, definitely the cost of transportation will come down.
For instance, if somebody that was buying fuel of N20,000 to work for a day, now comes back to buy gas at N4,000 for a whole day. This is a difference of N16,000.
So, the conversion from fuel vehicle model to CNG vehicle model will bring down the cost of transportation and ultimately the cost of commodities in the country.
And that is the reason President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used his wisdom and gave our members the opportunity to convert 100 vehicles belonging to our members, from petrol model to CNG vehicle model free of charge.”