FERMA to convert ALL operational vehicles to CNG

The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to convert all its operational vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG).

With the MoU, the FERMA will participate in the federal government’s presidential compressed natural gas initiative (P-CNGi).

Speaking during the signing ceremony on Wednesday, Michael Oluwagbemi, chief executive officer and programme director of P-CNGi, said the goal of the initiative is to convert all commercial vehicles owned by the road transport unions free of charge.

Oluwagbemi said the initiative would subsidise ride-hailing companies by 50 percent to convert their vehicles.

The move, he said, is to drive down the cost of transportation as the CNG is a cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable than fuel.

“The conversion of FERMA’s vehicles will cut costs for the agency for between 40 and 70 percent, and the MOU will be for the first four years and renewable for another four as the framework aims to deepen the collaboration between the two agencies,” Oluwagbemi said.

Oluwagbemi also said the goal is to convert over two million cars in collaboration with “our private sector partners who have already begun the process in various centres across the country”.

On his part, Emeka Agbasi, managing director of FERMA, said the transport agency is the first amongst the ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to begin the conversion of its operational vehicles to run on CNG.

This, he said, is in line with the federal government’s current drive to reduce the cost of governance due to the current economic crunch.

“The cost of premium motor spirit and diesel contributed substantially to the recurrent expenditure of the agency with its fleet of vehicles spread across the country,” he said.

On April 29, the federal government said it would launch the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration on May 29.

On June 12, the federal government said it would subsidise CNG vehicle conversion kits for members of transport unions, adding that over 20,000 conversion kits will be deployed soon.