President Bola Tinubu has committed to providing 36 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
This initiative is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to mitigate the high cost of living for workers across the country.
The President made this pledge on Thursday during a meeting with leaders of the NLC and TUC in Abuja, where they discussed various issues, including the minimum wage.
During the meeting, the President also approved a minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers.
This announcement was made by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy.
According to the statement, each of the promised CNG buses will have a seating capacity of 100, aiming to provide significant relief to workers by offering more affordable and sustainable transportation options.
“As a way of ameliorating the high cost of living by workers, President Bola Tinubu has promised to give 36 CNG-powered buses with a sitting capacity of 100 each to the TUC and NLC.
“This was one of the highlights of the meeting between the Federal Government and the two central trade unions in Abuja today,” the statement read.
What you should know
Following the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023, President Tinubu approved the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) to promote the adoption of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative energy source. This initiative aims to mitigate the impact of the subsidy removal by lowering energy costs for citizens.
PCNGI’s goals include reducing transportation costs and providing a more sustainable energy alternative for Nigerians.
With the president’s approval, NNPC Ltd announced a partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited. Together, they plan to develop CNG stations across the country to facilitate the widespread adoption of this alternative fuel. The establishment of CNG stations is expected to play a crucial role in reducing transportation costs and ensuring a more stable and affordable energy supply for the nation.
Nairametrics reported earlier that the federal government, in collaboration with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), inaugurated twelve new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in Lagos and Abuja.
Additionally, PCNGI recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with conversion workshop owners to convert one million commercial transport petrol vehicles to CNG by 2027 using planned 2,000 workshops nationwide. However, only 123 have already been selected at this time.
