Akwa Ibom takes delivery of 40 CNG buses

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have commenced a three-year programme to train thousands of Nigerian youths in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle retrofitting, with the first phase targeting 300 corps members across six locations.

The initiative, launched yesterday in Abuja at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja, is designed to create a pool of skilled technicians and entrepreneurs capable of supporting Nigeria’s expanding CNG and clean-mobility ecosystem.

Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NADDC, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, who spoke at the flag-off, said the programme was conceived to address the skills gap created by Nigeria’s transition from petrol and diesel-powered transportation to CNG.

He said the shift to CNG had created new opportunities across the automotive value chain but stressed that infrastructure and vehicles alone could not deliver the transition without adequately trained technicians, engineers, installers, maintenance specialists and entrepreneurs.

According to him, the programme would not be a one-off intervention, as NADDC and NYSC had agreed to implement it in phases over three years.

“We have just moved to a new technology, and that is an energy source, a new energy of power. We have just moved from PMS and AGO to CNG. That is why, because it is new, we have to do training and make sure that our corps members and Nigerian youths understand how CNG works, understand the dynamics and be able to convert vehicles,” he said.

Also speaking, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described the initiative as a practical response to Nigeria’s unemployment challenge, arguing that government could not employ every young Nigerian.

MEANWHILE, the Akwa Ibom State Government has taken delivery of another 10 CNG buses, bringing the number delivered under Governor Umo Eno’s mass transit programme to 40.

The latest batch arrived in Uyo yesterday, bringing the state to 80 per cent of its target of 50 buses, with the remaining 10 expected to arrive soon.

The programme is designed to provide residents with a more affordable and efficient public transportation system as rising transport costs continue to place pressure on households, workers and businesses.

Receiving the buses, the Commissioner for Transport, Dr Anthony Luke, said the delivery demonstrates Eno’s commitment to addressing the transportation needs of residents.

He said the government is complementing the acquisition of the buses with supporting infrastructure, noting that work on the CNG terminal is progressing and remains on schedule for completion.