The federal government recently engaged with officials from the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to advance efforts in meeting the country’s energy needs.
Launched in 2021, the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) is a collaborative initiative between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC). The program aims to boost the use of natural gas technology throughout Nigeria.
On Friday, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Amb Nicholas Ella, held separate meetings in Abuja with Dr. Silas Agara, the director general of the NGEP, and Aminu Muazu Maifata, the president of ALGON. According to a statement from the ministry, Amb Ella emphasized that the gas expansion programme’s goal is to provide cleaner, more sustainable energy across the country while ensuring broad societal inclusion.
He highlighted that expanding natural gas infrastructure to all 774 local government areas remains a top priority for the federal government.
“The national gas expansion programme will stimulate socio-economic activities in our rural and urban centres,” Amb Ella said.
The permanent secretary added that the NDE with its skills acquisition centers spread across the country could mobilize and train youths in the ongoing conversion of automobile vehicles from premium motor spirit (PMS) to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.
Speaking further on the program’s boundless opportunities, the chairman of the National Gas Expansion Programme, Prof Mohammed Ibrahim, said engaging youths in converting vehicles to CNG-powered vehicles would provide jobs and boost the government’s revenue base.
He explained that gas, aside from being used as an alternative energy source, could be used in producing fertilizers, medicine, and fabrics.
Prof Ibrahim said manpower the requisite is needed for the conversion of 30 million cars in Nigeria to CNG-powered vehicles, thereby reducing the enormous pressure on the use of PMS as the source of energy.
“We can empower welders, artisans in the gas industry. We want to build local competencies and skills in areas where there are coal deposits in the country, because it has been established that such areas have gas deposits, too,” the NGEP chairman said.
On the issue of funding, Prof Ibrahim said Nigeria’s successful bid for the hosting of the $5 billion Africa Energy Bank in Abuja would deal with funding challenges in oil and gas projects.
In his response, the new director general of NDE, Dr. Silas Agara, said his agency’s 120 skills acquisition centers would train the needed manpower for the CNG-powered vehicles.
Accompanied by the management staff of the NDE, Dr. Agara said he was excited to partner with the petroleum ministry to actualize the federal government’s gas infrastructure project to promote energy security.
The ALGON President represented by his Chief of Staff, Shehu Marshal, said the collaboration between the central government and the local council areas could not have come at a better time than now given the recent judgment of the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to the third tier of government.
“ALGON is ready to partner with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on this laudable project. Now that we are independent, we have the mandate of the association to go into this partnership,” Hon Maifata said.
