The minister of state for petroleum resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva has promised that from October the federal government will begin to convert cars, generators to run on gas.
Speaking on Monday on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ discussion programme, the minister said the conversion will be done free of charge adding the move is meant to ameliorate the biting effect of the hike in the pump price of petrol.
He said cars are capable of running on both gas and petrol stressing that the move would reduce carbon emissions as well as the demand for petrol.
“The alternative we are now introducing is gas, which is definitely going to be cheaper than the subsidised rate of PMS. So, what we are trying to encourage Nigerians to do now is to convert their cars to dual fuel.
“That means your car can use either gas or petrol and that will be done for free because the government is going to ensure that you are able to convert your vehicles for free.
“And when you convert your car for free, you go to the filling station, you see the price of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) you see the price of gas, you can decide to buy LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), you can decide to buy LNG (Liquefied Natural gas). These are all going to be available and we are going to have a roll out plan for this within October.
“Nigerians will have alternatives. It is like introducing a toll on the roads. When you introduce a tollgate, you are expected and required by law to also create an alternative. So, we are also creating that alternative so that you can go to buy gas.”
Sylva said the federal government launched a similar pilot scheme with commercial tricycles in Port Harcourt which, according to him, was successful.
He said the initiative would be extended to small capacity generators colloquially known as ‘I better pass my neighbour’.
The minister stated that filling stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would be the first to begin selling gas to vehicles.
Sylva said gas is cleaner and climate-friendly, adding that once this is achieved, Nigeria would receive funding from foreign donors.
“We are going to convert ‘I better pass my neighbour’. So, you will have a situation where in your house, your gas cylinder will be connected to your generator and cooker. So, you don’t need any other fuel apart from gas to run your generators.
“It will become cheaper and cleaner. Of course, our carbon emissions will actually reduce and we are expecting to gain some money from climate change (sic) for reducing our carbon emission. This is going to be a policy direction that will create a lot of opportunities,” he said.
He announced that all the NNPC filling stations and some private sector marketers had keyed to the initiative, adding that the scheme would start in one part of the country and then spread to others.
Asked how Nigeria could benefit from the free initiative, Sylva said: “Your car should be in a fairly good condition. That is the only condition to be met because if your car is not in a very good condition, I don’t know how it is going to convert. We are already in discussion with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and they are already very happy,” Sylva said.
