The federal government has made a lot of intervention on how to reduce impact of fuel subsidy removal through reducing dependence on petroleum as only means of powering automobiles, introducing CNG as alternative for automobiles
By Moses Okorie
In a bid to reduce cost of transportation in Nigeria occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, the National Orientation Agency, NOA, unveiled Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered tricycle, popularly known as Keke Napep, in partnership with an Indian firm, Simba TVS. The tricycle, which is assembled in Nigeria, uses both CNG and petrol.
The Director General of the NOA, Malam Issa Onilu, made this made known in a press conference at the NOA headquarters in Abuja, saying the choice of Keke Napep is because it is a common means of transportation for people at the rural areas and low-income earners.
He encouraged Nigerians to have hope in the present government of President Bola Tinubu, saying the fuel subsidy removal policy will pay off in the long run and that the idea of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered means of transportation has come to ameliorate the effect of the subsidy removal as it consumes only one-quarter of the normal fuel consumption.
According to him, the federal government has made a lot of intervention on how to reduce impact of fuel subsidy removal through reducing dependence on petroleum as only means of powering automobiles, introducing CNG as alternative for automobiles as well accelerating the importation of 10,000 CNG powered busses.
Onilu identified that apart from the economic gains of CNG-powered Keke Napep, it will also ensure cleaner environment and reduce the impact of climate change. He revealed that CNG plant was recently commissioned in Kaduna in readiness for the anticipated CNG-powered busses.
He said Simba TVS, which is currently assembling Keke Napep in Nigeria has promised to start manufacturing it locally, and that will equally serve as another economic benefit to Nigeria, because they would no longer be imported from abroad with foreign currency.
He said, the NOA will have one Keke Napep in each of its offices across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
In agreement with the Director General of the NOA, Malam Issa Onilu, the regional manager of Simba TVS in Abuja, Mr. Shamrat Sharma, said that though CNG-powered tricycle is new in Nigeria, but it has been in use in India for a long time now. He said Simba TVS has been operating in Nigeria for over 35 years, and is ready to start the manufacturing all the parts locally.
Also in his speech, Mr. Kayode Oyin-Zubair collaborated both the speech of the NOA DG and that of the Simba TVS regional manager. He appreciated the National Orientation Agency for partnering with them to ensure that Nigerians benefit from the new CNG policy.
He emphasized that one kilogram of the CNG can power a tricycle for five hours and will consume only one-quarter of the total consumption of fuel.
At the end of the press conference, the Simba TVS team led the NOA DG, top management staff as well as the media to inspect a tricycle and explained the features and how it works.