The federal government is intensifying efforts to provide Nigerians with Autogas to mitigate the effects of rising cost of premium motor spirit (PMS) in line with President Muhammmadu Buhari’s commitment to ushering in the epoch of gas as a better fuel for Nigerians.
Minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva, disclosed this during an Autogas dispensing station and conversion inspection exercise, which took place at the NNPC Autogas Dispensing facility Jahi and Autolady Garage in Abuja, where some government officials’ vehicles were being converted.
The minister expressed his satisfaction with the conversion process thus far, and charged conversion centers to make vehicle and user safety a priority during the process. He added that his vehicles and some in the President’s fleet would soon be converted as well.
Also present at the inspection was the executive secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, who stated that the government will ensure that autogas will soon be made available to people all over the country.
“Nigerians can rest assured of the government’s undying commitment to providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative to PMS, as prices have been on an upward climb in recent months following the deregulation of the downstream sector,” Saidu said.
“Besides the fact that autogas is cheaper, we are also concerned about making the conversion of cars affordable so that Nigerians can indeed reap the advantage of this new policy,” he said.
The PPPRA boss after the inspections also said that some filling stations across the country were already keying into the plan by adding Autogas dispensers to their stations.
He urged Nigerians to embrace Autogas as gas powered vehicles are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than any other fuel available on the market today. He also noted that the majority of vehicles built in the last two decades were well suited to conversion for dual fuel applications and therefore safe for all Nigerians willing to convert their vehicles.