The Programme Director and Chief Executive of the Presidential Compresses Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi), Michael Oluwagbemi has attributed a CNG vehicle explosion in Edo State to illegality, a fake cylinder, or bad installation.
On Wednesday, a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered car exploded at a NIPCO filling station along the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi-Abuja Expressway.
Speaking on Nigeria Info's Morning Crossfire on Friday, Oluwagbemi said there were bound to be "charlatans" wanting to evade the technical stipulations for petrol-to-CNG conversion.
He praised CNG as a safer fuel than petrol or diesel but said it was still a hydrocarbon, prone to combustion if improperly handled.
"CNG should only be stored in an approved storage tank that is bulletproof and also explosion-proof and not for utilization of fake cylinders," he said.
"The laws of hydrocarbon say you must handle them safely in order to utilize them safely for your own benefit.
"There is the cost of compliance if you decide to disobey. It is your life, and is the risk of life of not just yourself but of your neighbors, fellow citizens.”
He warned Nigerians against modifying their vehicles at unauthorized CNG conversion centers.
"You should only have your vehicle modified in a National Automotive Design And Development Council (NADDC) certified, accredited, authorized conversion center," he said.
Oluwagbemi repeated the Nigerian government's commitment to its CNG goals, stating that commercial drivers would be converting their vehicles for free. There are also incentives for private drivers to modify their cars.
“In the case of members of the private sector, we rolled out a program just two days ago with CreditPro that can also allow us to finance our own conversion.
“There are already financial solutions, giveaways, and palliatives that are in place by the federal government of Nigeria to encourage you to get this thing almost done for next to nothing if you are in the commercial sector."
He warned that quack modifiers will be punished.
