Subsidy Removal: Ogun to promote mini buses owners modify to CNG – Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday disclosed the readiness of the his administration to assist private mini buses owners in the state convert to using Compressed Natural Gas at the expense of the State government, as part of palliative to ease the effects of subsidy removal.

Abiodun, who disclosed this in an interview in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital said, the state government will this week unveil the first set of vehicles that will be converted from using diesel to using Compressed Natural Gas.

He said, sometime this week, we will be unveiling the first set of vehicles that will be converted from using diesel to using Compressed Natural Gas. That process started some months back.

He added that his administration has concluded plans to reactivate the state owned ‘Bulk Purchase Program’ under its Gateway Trading, noted that his administration would also introduce an agric and food palliative which according to him would help “at supporting our farmers so that we can boost food production.”

Abiodun hinted that the Bulk Purchase Program would allow the state government to purchase food items at pre-deregulation prices.

“In terms of food palliatives, we are now going to reactivate our Bulk Purchase Program under the Gateway Trading and through different channels and warehouses in different parts of the state. We will be selling food items like grains and rice that we will be purchasing from the Central Bank of Nigeria at pre-deregulation prices,” he said.

The governor also said that the introduction of an Energy Transition Plan, which was conceived some months back by his administration would allow the state to migrate from depending on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or diesel to power public transportation to using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Abiodun noted that the plan of his administration was to reclaim mini buses owned by individuals in the state at the expense of the state government because of the financial requirements, adding that the first set of vehicles with CNG would be unveiled during the week.

“The Energy Transition Plan is something that we conceived six to eight months ago, and we have begun work in earnest on that”.

Edited by Damilola Adeleke