By Bashir Bello
Vice President Kashim Shettima has on Thursday inaugurated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric vehicles, signaling the activation of the Northern corridor.
The inaugurated vehicles under the first phase deployment included 15 CNG (10 cng & 5 bi-fuel), 7 EV and 200 CNG tricycles.
Inaugurating the vehicles under the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), Shettima said the initiative was to expand access to alternative fuel transportation and reduce dependence on traditional fuels.
The Vice President, represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Sen. Ibrahim Hassan-Hadejia, said the initiative is designed not just as an energy policy but an economic strategy designed to reduce costs, strengthen energy security and support long-term growth.
“Northern Nigeria represents one of the largest transportation and logistics markets on the African continent and Kano sits at the centre of that opportunity.
“An investment in Kano is not an investment in one city alone. It is an investment into an entire regional commercial ecosystem stretching across northern Nigeria and into neighbouring countries.”
According to him, for centuries, Kano has stood as one of Africa’s great commercial capitals. Long before modern economic theories were written, this city of Kano had already established itself as a centre of trade, enterprise and innovation.
“Kano connected markets across the Sahel through commerce, resilience and human ambition. That spirit remains alive even today and there couldn’t have been a better place to launch this initiative other than the enduring city of Kano.”
He noted that every day, thousands of workers move goods, agricultural produce and passengers across Kano into different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
While noting the central point of transportation to economic life, Shettima said that necessitates the transition towards gas-powered and electric mobility.
“Transportation costs affect everything. They negatively impact food prices, businesses, manufacturing, logistics and ultimately the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“President Bola Tinubu understood that Nigeria could not continue to depend entirely on expensive traditional fuel systems while sitting on over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves,” Shettima said.
He said the expansion of the use of CNG and electric mobility is designed not just as an energy policy but as an economic strategy designed to reduce costs, strengthen energy security and support long-term growth.
According to him, FG commissioned 4,000 CNG powered trucks from a fleet of 720 billion that is expected to reach 15,000 CNG vehicles. And this is going to save the N1.7 trillion annually in logistics costs.
“When your refinery is using LNG trucks to distribute and deliver diesel and fuel for your consumption, it is time to put on your thinking cap.
“This transition also creates opportunities for our young people through technical training, conversion technology, engineering services and new businesses that will emerge around the ecosystem.”
On his part, Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf expressed readiness of the State to key into the initiative.
According to him, transportation is not just a convenience for us in Kano, it is the backbone of our economy.
“Therefore, any initiative that reduces transportation costs and provides cheaper alternatives will directly improve the lives of millions of our people. And this is why our administration immediately embraced this initiative and decided to support it.
“We believe that this sector will open new doors for employment, for entrepreneurship and skills development for thousands of young men and women,” the governor said.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pi-CNG & EV, Ismaeel Ahmed, said the initiative was initially established to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
According to him, as implementation progressed, it became clear that the initiative was about something much bigger, and that is accelerating Nigeria’s transition to cleaner, cheaper, and locally available energy for transportation
He said plans were on top gear to establish eight more CNG stations across the North before the end of the year.
“Today’s activation reflects that commitment. From Kano, we will continue expanding across Kaduna, Gombe, Maiduguri, Katsina and other strategic corridors in Northern Nigeria,” he said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)