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The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abuja airport taxi drivers to convert their (drivers) to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) free of charge.
Tribune Online reports that the deal, in the first phase, will see about one million vehicles converted as fuel prices continue to rise in the country.
Chief Executive, PCNGI, Michael Oluwagbemi, while speaking during the signing ceremony, said the deal would see the reduction in the cost of airport taxi for commuters.
Represented by the coordinator of the presidential CNG office, Folarin Oworu, Oluwagbemi said the signing was to ensure that the agreement was documented for free conversion for the beneficiaries.
“I carry the taxi services from the airport back into town, all around Abuja, the capital. One of the things that we try to do with them is to recognise them as commercial transporters and include them in our CNG programme, which is free conversion for all commercial vehicles.
“Second, it is also to find a way to agree a discount on the existing rates. So we’ve had a lot of back-and-forth negotiations and I’m glad that we’ve come to an agreement. And this is also a signing ceremony, documenting our agreement in terms of the reduction.
“ We’ve come to a 30 per cent discount on airport fares from Abuja airport to Abuja metropolis. All of that is documented in the agreement here and then we will sign it. Also, the terms and conditions under which our agreement is to be enforced is also documented here. We prefer it to be a 30 per cent discount,” Oworu said.
The spokesman of Airport Cabs Operators, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abdulaziz Aliu, said they look forward to see their vehicles converted within a short time while expressing hope that passengers will enjoy cheaper cost of transportation when the programme takes off.
“We appreciate you for signing this agreement for the purpose of which the Federal Government has introduced this thing for us and we said now that we have the alternative to petrol, our price is going to come down with 30 per cent and passengers will enjoy our services more than before.
“With the signing of this agreement today, we are looking forward to see most of our vehicles converted within a short time, maybe within two or three weeks. As far as we see, the airport taxi price will drastically come down and passengers can patronise us more than the other cabs,” he said.
He nonetheless commended President Bola Tinubu for coming up with the programme saying it will surely reduce the hardship faced by airport commuters.
“We appreciate the presidential CNG office and we are also using this medium to appreciate the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Tinubu for this new introduction of converting our vehicles from petrol to CNG free of charge.”
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