By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has said the Ministry will collaborate with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) to set up a CNG park within the Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
Prince Audu disclosed this during his meeting with the Programme Director/Chief Executive Officer, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) Engr.Michael Oluwagbemi, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Prince Audu emphasised the fact that one of the paramount objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, under the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ is the CNG Initiative, which is very critical following the removal of petroleum subsidy as it would reduce transportation costs by at least 40 percent.
The Minister in a statement by Head, Press & Public Relations Dept,Salamatu F. Jibaniya,said the Ministry of Steel Development is collaborating with the P-CNGI to set up a CNG park within the proposed Industrial Park in Ajaokuta which is underway, to drive the CNG initiatives of Mr. President.
“Mr. President has given a mandate that he want a minimum of one million CNG vehicles on the road by 2027. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to partner with the Federal Government under the CNG initiative.”
“One of the things we are also doing is the industrial park in Ajaokuta, where various categories of companies will be under the industrial park within Ajaokuta. So, the CNG park will be one of the many components of the soon-to-be Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
“Everything to actualise the CNG initiative and conversions are available in Ajaokuta, and so plugging in the CNG initiative is very viable; there is gas there, an engineering workshop is there and tools workshop to facilitate the construction or assemblies of the kits.”
“Mr. President is indeed very excited about this initiative and the partnership between the Ministry and the P-CNGI, which drives the plans of industrialising Nigeria, diversifying and growing the economy, and creating jobs under the Renewed Hope initiatives,” Prince Audu said.
The Minister commended Engr. Olugbemi for the excellent job he is doing in actualising the CNG initiative of Mr. President.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu lauded the initiative.He commended the partnership between the Ministry and P-CNGI and pledged the support of the Ministry and its team.
Mr. Olugbemi said the Steel Industry is an absolute necessity for the actualisation of the CNG initiative, adding that steel components are at the very heart of the project.
Olugbemi said that establishing the CNG park in Ajoakuta will be an evolution from importing some of the components to manufacturing them. This, he further explained, will address some of the challenges with transporting the CNG components into the country.
“The journey with the Ministry of Steel Development was critical from day one, and Ajaokuta is a hub with access to raw materials.We have hit the ground running already and are optimistic about excellent collaborations with the Ministry,” Olugbemi said.
The Sole Administrator, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited Engr. Sumaila Abdul- Akaba, said that the project was a welcome development especially in the revival phase of the company.
He assured P-CNGI of the cooperation of the steel company in bringing to fruition the realisation of the project.
