The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Tuesday took delivery of 84 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered vehicles comprising 20 buses, 50 units of Jet Lander pickup vehicles and 14 units of Jet Mover Executive buses.
The conversion of the vehicles was done in collaboration with the Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG) and inaugurated by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
In his remarks, Matawalle, said the initiative was a clear and strategic step in the journey of the nation towards energy sustainability, economic efficiency and environmental resilience.
He said inauguration of the vehicles was a direct fulfillment of President Bola Tinubu’s strategic vision to reposition Nigeria as a global player in clean energy adoption and to serve the public sector on the front line of climate-conscious governance.
According to him, there is an urgent call to adopt cleaner and more efficient alternatives to pursue where Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural gas reserves.
“It is therefore, both logical and visionary, that we harness these God-given resources to power our means of transportation.
“By transitioning a version of Armed Forces vehicles to CNGP, while reducing operational fuel costs, it can play and contribute to national effort.
“To cut down these greenhouse gas emissions and meet our global environmental objectives, we are also demonstrating innovation and adaptability in military logistics and mobility,” he said.
Matawalle commended the military for leading the public sector transition to cleaner energy, saying the transition was not a one-off event, but the beginning of a long-term systematic change.
He called for focus on building supporting infrastructure, including CNG refueling stations across military bases and training technological personnel to maintain their system.
“The Armed Forces must plan for the seamless integration of sustainability and sustainable energy solutions into logistic operations and procurement.
“We must make sure that the overall energy efficiency is the same as the general energy efficiency, and that the most important thing is the energy efficiency,” he added.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, said the transition to CNG vehicles reflected the ongoing transformation, within the armed forces.
This, he said, underscores their commitment to strengthening military infrastructure, enhancing operational efficiency, and embracing sustainable, forward-changing solutions, in line with global best practices.
Musa said the milestone also reflects a bold step in the nation’s commitment to environmental sustainability, energy security, and technological innovation.
He said the introduction of the CNG into the defence ecosystem, was a clear demonstration of the Federal Government’s dedication to reducing carbon emissions, enhancing fuel efficiency, and ensuring cost-effective service delivery.
“In doing so, we enhance operational effectiveness while supporting national developmental goals.
The Coordinator, P-CNGi Initiative, Mr Michael Oluwagbemi, said the armed forces had from day one, led from the front when it comes to the adoption of CNG.
Oluwagbemi said the first pilot project of the P-CNGi Initiative was the Nigerian Army, with the conversion of 30 vehicles, which had been expanded to 100.
He said there was a training programme as well as a conversion program that would see over 5,000 vehicles of army personnel converted to CNG engines. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)