By EricJames Ochigbo
Rep. Ademorin Kuye (APC-Lagos) has called for private sector, state and local governments partnership with the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG) for effective and affordable transportation system across the country.
Kuye, who is the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets, made the call in a statement on Friday, while commending the roll out of 37 CNG buses in Abuja.
He said that the high cost of transportation constituted heavy burdens on the take home of Nigerian workers.
According to him, the provision of a subsidised, low-emission mass transit option by the Federal Government is a concrete and measurable step toward cushioning the effect of the removal of the petrol subsidy on the ordinary worker.
Kuye said that the initiative would lead to direct relief on disposable income of civil servants who spent reasonable portion of their salaries on transportation daily.
He explained that it would reduce pressure and dependence on premium motor spirit (PMS) and ensure environmental and public health gains, as CNG combustion produces significantly lower emissions than petrol or diesel.
“I urge the state and local government areas to partner with the Pi-CNG and private sector operators for the ease of getting access to conversion kits, low-interest financing and technical support.
“Institutionalising this scheme as part of a broader, sustainable state transport policy is better than a temporary palliative.
“This is a practical, scalable model of palliative support and intervention, unlike one-off cash transfers, as a functioning transit scheme offers recurring, sustainable relief and can be expanded as more buses and conversion infrastructure come on stream.
“While this step of federal government is commendable, 37 buses cannot accurately meet the transportation needs of the government’s workforce in Abuja, let alone the millions of state and local governments employees across the federation who face the same cost-of-living.
“I therefore, call on state governors and local government area chairmen to emulate this initiative and urgently procure CNG buses for the purpose of conveying civil servants and/or convert buses to use CNG for the sake of conveying civil servants and other passengers,” he said.
Kuye urged members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to work toward ensuring replication of the initiative across the country.(NAN)
Source: News Agency of Nigeria