Starting from Oct 1st, Nigeria’s Federal Government through its Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) plans to distribute 2000 units of CNG-Powered tricycles popularly known as Keke Napep. This was disclosed via its X (formerly Twitter) social media. This is part of the Presidential initiative and intervention towards reducing the cost of transportation which is a fallout of the petrol subsidy removal. Photo Source: PCNGi
However, there have been misgivings about the safety of CNGs considering the safety standards, adherence to same safety standards and measures and the hot temperature of Nigeria’s climate. Analysts say 2000 units of tricycle across the country is not enough to alleviate the current expensive cost of transportation.
In the coming months, we expect to see demonstrated efforts to gain public trust in order to speed up adoption of the initiative. We might also witness the government expand efforts on strategic partnerships and policies to improve acceptance and distribution such as the recently passed Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on CNG cars.