The Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups has lauded Rolling Energy for its resilience and determination in championing the CNG conversion and refuelling efforts across northern Nigeria, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was stated as the body debunked negative impressions and “the other false and misconstrued narrative on the safety issue,” adding that “From what we observed, CNG is actually safe and non-hazardous.”
The statement was made in Kano during the public enlightenment and sensitisation drive on the significance of CNG as an alternative source of clean, affordable, and safe energy.
The event brought together leadership from the Transportation Forum, including NARTO, NURTW, ACOMORAN, Water Tanker Union, Tashi Ka Nemi Naka, and others.
While speaking at the occasion, the Secretary of the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Groups, Comrade Auwal Shuaibu, commended the Tinubu administration for initiating the CNG policy, which seeks, among other things, to alleviate the economic and social strain arising from subsidy removal.
He said, “The moment subsidy was removed, the president knew the shock would be severe, so he set in motion an alternative stopgap, which is CNG. Licences were given to different private firms to partner with the federal government in order to speedily make CNG available across the country.”
He then stated, “In our region, however, we understand a private firm, Rolling Energy, is the one handling the project across northern Nigeria.”
“So far, in order to be sure we’re not shortchanged, we beamed our searchlight on Rolling Energy, and thankfully, we are happy to state that they are unrelentingly pursuing the CNG conversion and refuelling across the region, in states like Kaduna, Kwara, Abuja, Nasarawa, and Maiduguri.”
He emphasised that “the claim that CNG is not available in northern Nigeria is a misrepresentation of facts. The slow response to the initiative, especially from our businessmen, was a major factor, which gave the south an edge.”
“As usual, southern Nigeria embraced the initiative at its formative stages. So, we’re calling on those in the oil and gas sector from northern Nigeria, and filling station owners, to partner with Rolling Energy by making their filling stations available as conversion and refuelling centres, in order to leverage the CNG initiative of the federal government.”
In his speech, the Coordinator and Chairman of the Coalition, Mal Abdullahi Mohammed, stated that the narrative that CNG is not available in northern Nigeria is a misnomer and a deliberate misinformation aimed at politicising the exercise.
He said, “Based on our findings, eight indigenous companies partnered with the federal government. Among them is Rolling Energy, and we have to commend the speed at which the company is spreading its tentacles across the region, starting from Kaduna, where it has three conversion and refuelling stations, Kwara, Nasarawa, Maiduguri, with Kano coming on stream soon.”
He added that “the other false and misconstrued narrative is the safety issue. From what we observed, CNG is actually safe and non-hazardous.”
He urged members of the Transportation Forum to go back, sensitise, and engage their members to embrace this innovation, which can make life seamless for all. “CNG is the game changer as far as transportation is concerned.”
Adding that “As a region, we must take full advantage. The Tinubu administration, we understand, targets one million Nigerians to benefit from free conversion; therefore, we must act fast.”
In his remarks, a representative of Rolling Energy assured members of the Transport Forum of the availability of CNG centres across the country in no distant time. He said, “As professionals, we are guided by the highest standards of service delivery. We are working tirelessly to ensure smooth operations across the region and the entire country.”
In his goodwill message, Alhaji Aminu Almustapha, Chairman of the Transportation Forum, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the management and staff of Rolling Energy for their efforts in ensuring the availability of CNG through its various conversion and refuelling stations across the region.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune