The Federal Government of Nigeria has redirected a ₦100 billion fund originally earmarked for the purchase of 3,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, opting instead to finance the conversion of existing vehicles to CNG and to support the acquisition of tricycles, an official told reporters.
The initial plan, announced earlier this year, aimed to modernise public transport by introducing a fleet of 3,000 new CNG‑powered buses, a move intended to reduce road congestion and curb emissions in major cities.
Under the revised allocation, the government will use the money to convert a range of existing vehicles to run on CNG, a cleaner and cheaper fuel compared with petrol or diesel, and to provide tricycles that can serve as last‑mile transport solutions, particularly in underserved urban and peri‑urban areas.
The official explained that the shift in spending was made to better address current transport demands and to leverage the existing vehicle base, although detailed reasons for the change were not disclosed in the brief statement.
Nigeria’s transport sector has been under pressure to adopt greener technologies, and the redirection of the fund reflects the government’s ongoing efforts to expand CNG usage while supporting informal transport operators who rely on tricycles for daily commuting.
<small>Source: Punch Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>