President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIoTA), Segun Obayendo has backed the presidential initiative on use of CNG vehicles.
He however stressed the need for a 70% reduction in custom duty on imported CNG vehicles to drive acceptability and saturation in the country.
His endorsement followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all government offices should henceforth procure Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.
A statement by Chinwe Uwaegbute,
National Publicity Secretary, CIoTA said Obayendo’s endorsement was at a stakeholders’ engagement event in Ikeja, Lagos, hosted by the Presidential Initiative on CNG.
He noted that as long as CNG vehicles are competing with diesel and petrol vehicles in terms of custom duty, Nigerians will remain reluctant to adopt the new technology.
Obayendo also highlighted the potential for converting existing petrol engine vehicles to CNG, and assured that CIoTA is fully behind the initiative and ready to provide the necessary skills to convert diesel and petrol engines to CNG compliance.
The event was attended by key stakeholders, including the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Standard Motor Mechanics and Technicians Association – the end-users of the initiative.
