• Abuja Keke riders beg for more stations
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
ABOUT two years after the Federal Government initiated moves for Nigerian motorists to adopt compressed natural gas (CNG) as alternative to petrol, Keke NAPEP riders in Abuja are gradually embracing it. Some of the riders told Daily Sun they decided to embrace CNG due to high cost of petrol.
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John Ameh plies NNPC Junction, Kubwa to Byazhin Across. He said: “I filled my gas at the filling station opposite NNPC Junction, Kubwa-Abuja Expressway. The gas is economical and cheaper compared to petrol but there is queue. The challenge most people are facing is how to get funds and buy the CNG Keke NAPEP because it is expensive.”
Clement Eta: “CNG is a good concept. But government and private sector should establish more filling stations across the country to serve motorists better.”
Adamu Usman piles Utako Market to Dakibiu. He said: “Using CNG is one of the best things I have achieved since starting this business. It has been without challenges since I converted my Keke to CNG. I have made triple of what I used to make.
“The only challenge in the conversion is the shortage of stations. Government make more stations available and reduce the cost of conversion. There are motorists who want to do it but for the cost. Government should also do more sensitisation on it. Some people still nurse negative impression about it.”
Mohamed Yaru: “I have heard most of my colleagues attesting to the fact that CNG is very economical and how it helps them save money from petrol purchase. I really want to do it but don’t know the procedure.
“It would be good if government comes to the level of some of us and educate us on where it is being done. Some of us are even saying it will catch fire once the sun is harsh.”
Oluebube Chris said he would have loved to convert to CNG but he is scared of accessibility because only a few stations sell it.
Innocent Ameh: “CNG Keke is the best. I like it because you can even carry two passengers in the front.”
However, Samuel Agu said: “I don’t want CNG because it is risky to be using gas inside a vehicle in this our weather. I think a vehicle using CNG can easily catch fire if involved in an accident because of the gas.”
Anonymous rider: “Nigerians are talking about the money they make from the business forgetting about their safety. As for me, I will never ride or enter CNG vehicle. I have even warned my family members not to try it. It is very risky.”
Vice chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Halilu, said: “We have a strategic plan. Of course, with the support of the Presidential Initiative on CNG to have these queues disappear in the next two years.
“We promise to expand this operation to make life easier for the country. Currently, CNG is about 85 per cent cheaper than the average fuel, which is PMS. And I think these queues are a positive indicator that Nigerians have welcomed and accepted CNG.”
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