The Honourable Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu met with Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, Program Director/Chief Executive Officer, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) in Abuja on Wednesday to discuss setting up a CNG park within the Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
Prince Audu reemphasised the fact that one of the paramount objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, under the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ is the CNG Initiative, which is very critical following the removal of petroleum subsidies, and would reduce transportation costs by at least 40 percent.
The Honourable Minister said that the Ministry of Steel Development is collaborating with the P-CNGI to set up a CNG park within the proposed Industrial Park in Ajaokuta which is underway, to drive the CNG initiatives of Mr. President.
“Mr. President has given a mandate that he wants a minimum of one million CNG vehicles on the road by 2027. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and everything that we need to partner with the federal government under the CNG initiative are available in Ajaokuta.
“One of the things we are also doing is the industrial park in Ajaokuta, where various categories of companies will be under the industrial park within Ajaokuta. So, the CNG park will be one of the many components of the soon-to-be Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
“Everything to actualize the CNG initiative and conversions are available in Ajaokuta, and so plugging in the CNG initiative is very viable; there is gas there, an engineering workshop is there, and a tools workshop to facilitate the construction or assemblies of the kits is also there.
“Mr. President is indeed very excited about this initiative and the partnership between the Ministry and the P-CNGI, which drives the plans of industrialising Nigeria, diversifying and growing the economy, and creating jobs under the renewed initiatives,” Prince Audu said.
The Honourable Minister of Steel Development commended Engr. Olugbemi for the excellent job he is doing in actualizing the CNG initiative of Mr. President.
Mr. Olugbemi said that the Steel Industry is an absolute necessity for the actualization of the CNG initiative, adding that steel components are at the very heart of the project.
Olugbemi said that establishing the CNG park in Ajoakuta will be an evolution from importing some of the components to manufacturing them. This, he further explained, will address some of the challenges with transporting the CNG components into the country.
“The journey with the Ministry of Steel Development was critical from day one, and Ajaokuta is a hub with access to raw materials.
We have hit the ground running already and are optimistic about excellent collaborations with the Ministry,” Olugbemi said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu
lauded the initiative commending the partnership between the Ministry and P-CNGI, pledging the support of the Ministry and its team.
Engr. Sumaila Abdul- Akaba, Sole Administrator, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited said that the project was a welcome development to Ajaokuta especially in the revival phase of the company.
He assured P-CNGI of the cooperation of the steel company In bringing to fruition the realization of the project.
Lizzy Okoji
Special Assistant Media to the Honourable Minister of Steel Development,
Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu
July 25, 2024
