Female drivers seek CNG conversion, inclusion in transport reforms

Against the backdrop of high fuel costs cutting members’ earnings, the Female Drivers Association of Nigeria (FEDAN) has requested inclusion in the federal government’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion programme and transport reforms.
   
Describing CNG as a cheaper alternative, FEDAN President, Eunice Odeghe, lamented in Abuja yesterday that none of the members had benefited from the CNG conversion programme.
   
According to her, “Sometimes you buy fuel for N30,000, and it gives you just a few litres. You travel long distances and may get only two passengers, paying less than N1,000. You cannot make ends meet.”
   
Odeghe said women were ready for training and vehicle conversion, with about 200 women trained from scratch, while others joined afterwards, adding that a few members had already converted theirs at their own cost.
   
She further called for more CNG stations, regretting that drivers spend up to six hours in queues, just as the recently announced fare reductions for commercial drivers at the NNPC stations were a good idea but were poorly implemented.
  
FEDAN, with support from agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps, trains women as professional drivers. Odeghe said.
   
Noting that the association has about one million women drivers nationwide and also sensitises members against crime and to spot human trafficking, she urged the government at all tiers to train more women and provide vehicles on loan at reasonable rates.