Auto Gas: Nigerians Demand Reduction Of N250, 000 Vehicle Conversion Cost

The N250, 000 being proposed by the Federal Government for the conversion of vehicles from petrol to gas has been described as high considering the low purchasing power of most Nigerians.

Following the commencement of the nation’s transition from the use of Premium Motor Spirit to gas, as a cleaner alternative energy for automobiles, the Technical Adviser on Gas Business and Policy Implementation to Minister of State for Petroleum, Justice Derefaka, had on Wednesday said that car owners are expected to bear the cost of converting their vehicles to gas.

He explained that the conversion process would be carried out in the various conversion centres across the country within seven to eight hours.

“The cost varies, it depends on the cylinder of the vehicle but on the average, it is around N200, 000 to N250,000 and this is for a four-cylinder vehicle but it becomes a little bit higher for a six-cylinder vehicle.”

“The owner of the car basically will decide to say I want to run on auto gas or CNG or LNG and like the honourable minister had mentioned before, conversion has basic strands, you can partner with your bank and the bank will now agree with the conversion Centre to convert your vehicle, not for free entirely.”

His comment seems to be at variance with the promise made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva in September when he said the conversion would be done free for Nigerians.

But reacting to the new position of the government, a cross section of Nigerians who spoke with THE WHISTLER said that the N250,000 was high considering the current economic downturn.

Micheal Olatunji, in a chat with THE WHISTLER, said that putting the cost of converting a four-cylinder vehicle at N250,000 is too high and discouraging, adding that the cost of living for the average Nigeria has been unbearable since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Olatunji who is an Abuja based lawyer said “The conversion cost of N250, 000 is too high for four cylinder vehicle and for those that have bigger cars, they would have to pay more according to the government. How do we cope with the conversion cost, it is way too high and it is discouraging.

“This is just another way of increasing the cost of living for Nigerians, we already know that the consumption pattern is low, cost of living is high, cost of fuelling is already high but this cost of converting is just unreasonable at this time.”

Afiz Isah, an Abuja based Engineer, said that he expects the government to subsidize the conversion cost, as a way of encouraging Nigerians to embrace the government’s agenda of increasing gas utilisation across the country.

“I do not think many people will be interested in that initiative because of the high conversion cost. Getting to know about the amount to be paid is quite discouraging and I don’t think many people would be able to afford it.”

But the General Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Lumumba Okubgawa, in a chat with THE WHISTLER, noted that gas is the focus of the future in the oil and gas sector and there is need for Nigeria to key into the gas initiative.

He explained that the program would boost the plan of government to use gas as a cleaner alternative to fuel.

He said, “Introducing this program at this time is the right move by the Federal Government, gas utilization is where the world is headed and Nigeria cannot be left behind.”

Speaking on the cost of conversion, he said, “It is not compulsory for everyone to convert their vehicles, we still have diesel and petrol, this is just the introduction of an alternative. So those that cannot afford the cost can use other products.

“Coping with the cost may not be appreciated for now, but we are hopeful that with time, we will all appreciate this move by the Federal Government.”

The Vice President, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigeandi, explained that Nigeria has gas in large quantity, hence there may be no need for export unlike the fuel.

He said, “This is a great move seeing that Gas is also part of what we trade, it would be easier compared to the fuel that we have to export.

“We have a large quantity of gas in Nigeria and I think this will provide an avenue for us to explore them.

“So we are encouraging our members to embrace this program, install facilities for vehicle conversion.”