Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, says his administration would provide 100 brand-new 18-seater buses powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) for transporters in the state.
Speaking at a meeting in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, Abiodun said the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government would provide 20 CNG-enabled buses and 500 conversion kits to the state government during the week.
News About Nigeria reports that the meeting was held to address fair transportation pricing amid fuel scarcity and price hikes.
The governor also introduced an enforcement committee comprising state officials and transport union heads to monitor the situation.
“The plans that we have as a state government, our plans are to, in the first instance, make 100 buses—100 18-seater buses—available to our transport unions,” he said.
“These will be 100 brand new CNG buses, and these buses will be brand buses, not no-name buses. We are talking about Toyota Hiace buses that we will give to you under a purchase agreement.
“We will make them available to you, and you can pay in installments over a period of time.
“You have demonstrated commitment and seriousness, and we are confident that when we give you these buses, you will utilise them responsibly and pay back on time.
“The Federal Government has also started an Energy Transition Programme through the Presidential CNG initiative, and I can confirm to you that the Presidency has confirmed that they are making 20 buses available to Ogun State in the first instance—20 CNG buses. We will be getting those buses in the next week.
“They are also making 500 CNG conversion kits available to Ogun State for the immediate conversion of vehicles to CNG-enabled.
“I have been assured that the conversion kits, which is the first batch of 500, will reach us in the next five days. You know that we have a conversion centre in Ogun State. We are a major conversion centre for the Southwest, and we will begin the conversion of vehicles in accordance with how we agree in terms of scheduling who will come first and what vehicles we will begin to convert.”