13th May, 2024
The Federal executive Council has ordered that all new vehicles, generators or tricycles being procured by government and its agencies must be powered by CNG, solar or electric.
It was one of the major decisions reached by the council before it adjourned its marathon proceedings till Tuesday after over four hours.
Affected by the order, according to sources, are new requests by Nigeria Customs Service, the Shipper’s Council, an agency of the Marine and Blue Economy which had sought approval to buy several hundreds of operational vehicles, to be powered by petrol.
The council approved the requests but said they must be CNG vehicles.
Also a request by the Federal Capital Territory to buy petrol generators was also approved, but the council insisted they must be powered by CNG or solar.
Government also expects agencies to begin to convert petrol or diesel vehicles or generators to CNG.
The Tinubu administration which launched the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative( PCNGi) last October plans to roll out about 800 CNG buses, 4000 CNG tricycles and 100 electric buses in the first phase in the next few weeks.
In taking the decision on Monday, sources said government was signalling its readiness for energy transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
Government believes its policy will unlock new investments in renewable energy, solar panels and lithium batteries.
It also believes that the policy will be climate friendly and reduce inflation as it will slash costs by about 60 percent.