KEY POINTS
- There is evidence that indicates that CNG vehicles can save as much as 70 percent on maintenance.
- CNG is known for it reduces engine’s emission and increases its life span and performance.
- High conversion costs and number of stores where the cartridge can be refilled has emerged as drawbacks.
Automobile pundits have explained that converting petrol cars to CNG has huge benefits and this has included the following: In interviews with some experts, who spoke with News Agency of Nigeria in separate interviews in Abuja, they noted some benefits of using CNG instead of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS); foremost of which are cost and environment.
According to Bayero Farah, the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, CNG improves engine service life, performance, and emissions to international standards.
According to Farah, there is a substantial cost saving and cleaner energy and much more stable pricing structure in CNG cars to which nonetheless he admitted that the cost of convertion is a big issue. Difficulties for Conversion As Interest Grows
Difficulties for conversion as interest grows
Although offering numerous benefits such as fuel efficiency and drastically reduced emissions, challenges have been highlighted by both the traders and the users.
According to The Punch, Oseni Suleiman of the Amalgamated Union of Motor Mechanics and Technicians, added a point that indicated that CNG is cleaner and thus reduces the level of wear on the engines. However, the supply of CNG requires refill stations and these are still scarce in stock and many parts of the world.
For motorists like CNG car owner Joseph Oluebube, the advantages are obvious. He said that ₦4,000 will take CNG more than a week on a daily trip of about 34 km from Kubwa to Garki on FCT transport.
Nevertheless, other users pointed at the affordability factor mentioning that the conversion is possible in the range of 700 000 ₦ – 1 000 000 ₦ and indicating the importance of governmental stimuli and the availability of CNG refilling stations.
