The Nigerian Government has officially handed over 64 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, each with a capacity of 100 passengers, to the Organised Labour and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
The presentation took place on Sunday at the banquet hall of the State House in Abuja, with both the Ministers of Information, Mohammed Idris, and Finance, Wale Edun, in attendance. They announced that an additional 700 CNG buses are expected to arrive in the country soon.
This initiative comes as Nigerians continue to grapple with rising transportation fares and commodity prices following the removal of petrol subsidies in 2023.
While there is a growing demand among citizens for the reinstatement of the subsidy regime, the administration of President Bola Tinubu is promoting the use of gas, aiming to convert over 200,000 vehicles and tricycles to run on compressed natural gas as a more affordable energy source.
Leaders from the labour sector, including Nuhu Toro, Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Uche Ekwe, Head of the International Desk of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), praised the government for this initiative.
However, they emphasized that the current number of buses is insufficient to meet the transportation needs of Nigeria’s entire workforce.
