Why FG diverted ₦100bn CNG bus fund to vehicle conversions, tricycles — Official

The Federal Government has changed its original plan to spend the ₦100bn allocation announced by President Bola Tinubu on 3,000 compressed natural gas buses, redirecting the intervention towards vehicle conversions, tricycles and higher-capacity buses, an official has said.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Initiative, Tosin Coker, disclosed this during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday.

Coker said the government reviewed the initial plan after the presidential initiative was established in October 2023, concluding that buying 3,000 buses alone would not reach enough Nigerians.

He said the revised programme was designed to expand access to alternative-fuel transportation through vehicle conversions and different categories of buses.

“Yes, July was when that was announced, but that amount, that 100 billion, was used more, put to better use in what I’ve just said, in the conversion kits, as well as buses, bigger capacity buses, not 20-seater. We’ve done 50-seater buses in some cases and some smaller buses too. So yes, that’s what that has gone into,” he said.

Tinubu announced the ₦100bn allocation in July 2023 as part of efforts to ease the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy.

Coker said the original plan had been reviewed following the establishment of the presidential initiative.

“That announcement of 100bn being set aside was made in July 2023. And the plan was to have gone ahead with 3,000 buses. I understand, I believe that when that was looked into, it was realised that a better strategy was needed. And that was probably what, I think that’s what led to the formation or the setting up of the presidential CNG initiative in October,” he said.

He argued that the initial plan would not have been sufficient to meet the country’s public transportation needs.

“When the initiative was set up, that moved to not just buses, because we realised it’s not just buses that move people around. We had, and we couldn’t reach everyone with just even 3,000 buses. Believe me, 3,000 buses, if you drop them in Lagos today, will do something, but it’s nowhere near enough to what less than Lagos needs,” Coker said.

He added that the programme initially targeted the conversion of commercial vehicles and included support for transport unions and operators.

“We started with the conversion programme targeting conversion and commercial vehicles only. We did over 25,000 in that first period and free conversions with the transport unions and transport operators, as well as tricycles. Those were done. In that we achieved far more than 3,000 buses. Even if you say 3,000 buses at 20 seaters or so, we achieved a lot more than what was initially planned,” he said.

650 buses, 120,000 conversions

Providing an update on the initiative’s implementation, Coker said more than 650 buses had been introduced nationwide, while the conversion programme had recorded over 120,000 conversions.

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“In that time, we have introduced just as PICNG over 650 buses nationwide in different parts of the country. Some tricycles as well. As well as the conversion programme, which has achieved up till now about over 120,000 plus conversions. Primarily for commercial transportation,” he said.

He said the initiative had also procured conversion kits and buses to improve public transportation and reduce costs for commuters.

Coker, however, acknowledged that the number of CNG buses and tricycles operating in the country remained inadequate.

“I’m not going to say that we’re going to rest on our laurels and say yes we’ve done a good job. No, we’ve done well but we have to do a lot, lot more. You know the number of buses and tricycles on our roads is not enough but we’re doing more,” he said.

He added that additional CNG and electric vehicles had been ordered, with a significant increase in their deployment expected in the coming weeks and months.

“So what we’re doing now is scaling this up so that over the next few weeks and the months there’ll be significant and visible increase in CNG and EV transportation leading to lower fares and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Coker urges states to do more

The presidential initiative’s COO also urged state governments to increase their involvement in providing public transportation, saying the Federal Government could not be expected to meet the country’s needs alone.

“The states themselves can and should do more, and that is what this new drive from October 1 was all about. The states need to do more. Federal government cannot be the one expected to do everything.

“We’ll intervene, we’ll catalyse it, show what is possible, and support as much as possible. But states should do more, and we’re enabling them to do that. Private sector can and will do more,” he said.

Coker said the initiative was working to support wider access to vehicle conversions through financing arrangements that would allow eligible participants to pay in instalments.

He said conversion costs ranged from about ₦350,000 upwards, depending on the type of vehicle and complexity of the conversion.

He added that the government was working with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation and other providers to make financing available over periods of three, six or 12 months.

Coker said the long-term expansion of the CNG industry would depend on private-sector participation, while the government would focus on creating an enabling environment, training standards and safety.