…Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Kebbi, Niger, Taraba, Bauchi, Zamfara, Kano & others still waiting for the buses

…Niger buys 250 CNG buses but has no gas to run them

… Northeast got 10 buses, but not yet running

…10 given to North-Central, lying waste in Kogi

Soni Daniel, Editor, Northern Region & Wole Mosadomi (Minna), Bashir Bello (Kano), Ademola Akinyemi (Ilorin), Umar Yusuf (Yola), Ndahi Marama (Maiduguri & Damaturu), Marie-Therese Nanlong (Jos), Peter Duru (Makurdi), Charly Agwam (Bauchi), Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo (Kaduna), Haruna Aliyu (Birnin Kebbi), Femi Bolaji (Jalingo), Musa Ubandawaki (Sokoto), Boluwaji Obahopo (Lokoja), Salisu Idris (Gusau).

Transporters and commuters in the northern part of the country have continued to groan over high transport costs due to the failure of the federal government to come good on its promise to saturate the area gas-powered alternative transportation scheme.

Indeed, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed petrol subsidy on the day he was inaugurated, he promised to provide cheaper vehicles running on compressed natural gas to cushion the effect of the subsidy withdrawal by his administration.

However, nearly two years after the promise, nothing concrete has been done to translate the promise by Mr. President into reality, leaving commuters to suffer in the aftermath of that failure.

Findings by our correspondents indicate that after the promise to provide compressed natural gas-powered vehicles, which are considered a cheaper alternative to petrol vehicles, the government has only delivered 10 vehicles each to the three geopolitical zones in the north, making a total of 30.

But the irony of the situation is that the 30 buses made available to the northern region are not providing seamless transportation services to commuters due to some technical setbacks, chief among them, the absence of recharging points in those states.

The pivot of any successful CNG system is the availability of charging points within the reach of transporters using compressed gas as the source of energy, but such ports are not currently readily available in most parts of Nigeria.

However, despite handing over 10 CNG buses to the entire northeastern states about two months ago, there has been no effort to get them running due to some challenges.

The Yobe State Chapter Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Muktari Musa Tarbutu, the federal government handed over 10 CNG vehicles for the use of the entire Northeast, with the unveiling of the buses in Adamawa State in March this year.

Comrade Tarbutu however, lamented that the buses could not be put to use due to the absence of CNG gas stations in the northern region for recharging the buses.

The labour leader called on the federal government to consider establishing such centres in the north before increasing the fleet of CNG buses to the states to ease the transport woes of the people.

But the failure of the federal government buses to work in the northern states has opened a window of opportunity for the Borno State Government to showcase its success in gas-powered transportation management.

The Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, last year invited President Tinubu to unveil its 107-fleet gas and electric-powered buses and cars for the Borno Metro transport scheme

The scheme initiated by the Borno State Government is said to have positively impacted the lives of the citizenry, as many residents and workers patronise the electric vehicles as their means of local transportation daily due to their cheap fares.

While the buses are lying idle in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, the ten donated by the federal government for the northcentral in Lokoja are also yet to begin servicing the citizenry due to the same problem of gas supply. There is yet no station to begin dispense compressed gas to motorists in the area.

But in Adamawa, state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Wunfe Anthony, confirmed to Vanguard that a Compressed Natural Gas charging station is to be commissioned on the 3rd of June.

In Plateau State, the state has neither received any CNG bus nor the siting of any CNG gas station as at the time of this report.

The State Commissioner for Transport Jatau Davou confirmed.

Davou said Plateau is still waiting for the buses promised by the federal government.

We have concluded discussions with the management of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology for the siting of a CNG conversion centre in Jos. A suitable location has been identified for a temporary site to commence operations after a facelift of the facility.

“The Ministry has secured approval from GreenVille Limited for the establishment of Mega Station for CNG in the state to cater for the North Eastern and other neighbouring States. An approval for five hectares of land has been granted by Governor Caleb Mutfwang for the commencement of this Foreign Direct Investment.

The situation is the same in Kebbi, where there is neither a CNG-powered station nor a bus given to the state to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.

Findings in Taraba, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi and Kebbi reveal that the buses promised by the federal government have not yet been delivered to them and that commuters are still suffering the high cost of transportation in those states.

But the Niger State Government has in an ambitious move to ease the transportation cost, secured no fewer than 250 CNG buses for the state.

However, there are no CNG conversion and gas-powered stations to power the vehicles for use in the state.

The delay in the take-off of the buses has led to claims that some of the vehicles had been vandalised by angry citizens.

But the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hajiya Binta Mammam, has denied the vandalisation of the CNG buses bought by the state government.

Mamman said, “All the 250 CNG buses purchased by the state government are intact. The buses are not running simply because there is no gas to power them for now, and not because they have been vandalized where they were parked.

“The state government planned to establish three gas plants at Minna, the state capital and the two others in Suleja and Lambata to power the buses, but the plants are yet to start functioning. The nearest gas station to Minna is Abuja, and it is not economically wise to drive the buses there to purchase gas, hence the temporary suspension of the takeoff.

“The state government had good intentions in purchasing the buses, and we are presently doing everything possible to put the buses on the road for the benefit of the people and I am happy to tell you that the buses are intact as nobody has vandalised any of them,” she declared.

“When fully operational, there will be three charging stations which will be in Minna, the state capital, Suleja, headquarters of Suleja local government area and Lambata which is close to Suleja town but in the Gurara local government area of the state.

Reacting to the development, Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Niger State Chapter, Comrade Abdulkareem Idris Lafene said organized Labour is working in synergy with the state government to ensure that CNG buses are put to use soonest,” he said.

In Kogi, the ten buses that were given to be shared to states in the Northcentral in January this year, are still being kept with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.

This is because the Nigerian Labour Congress, which received the vehicles, has yet to share them across the six states in the zones. The vehicles are still occupying space at the Labour House in Lokoja.

But in Kwara, no fewer than 250 commercial vehicles are said to be recharging their vehicles at the only CNG charging point at Post Office area of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

One of the staff who craved anonymity told Vanguard in an interview that some filling stations in the state are recharging vehicles but that they have not commenced operations.

She said that the commercial vehicles using gas, recharge almost on a daily basis, while the private vehicles, which he said are not up to 10, being government official vehicles, recharge randomly.

Commuters are suffering in Bauchi State, which is yet to receive compressed natural gas-powered commercial vehicles, despite the Federal Government’s initiative to facilitate the distribution of such vehicles across all states.

Expressing concern over the delay, residents and stakeholders in Bauchi are calling on the state government to cooperate with the federal government in order not to miss the opportunity to enhance local transport systems in the State.

A NURTW official, Suleiman Musa, urged the state government to do its part by establishing fueling centres before the arrival of CNG buses.

“At the moment, there are no known CNG refuelling or conversion stations which are operational within the state. The Adoption of CNG vehicles can enhance local transport systems and improve air quality.

“I urge the State government to partner with the federal government on this initiative so that people of Bauchi State can benefit fully from the programme. The government must work on creating facilities to enable the sustainability of the programme,” he said.

In spite of the release of 10 CNG buses to North Central states by the Federal Government in January, the impact of such is yet to be felt in Kogi state.

This is due to the fact that the Nigerian Labour Congress, which received the vehicles, are yet to share it across the six states in the zones. The vehicles are still occupying space at the Labour House in Lokoja.

The Federal Government early in the year had handed over the ten CNG buses to the labour union at the North Central Working Committee meeting held in Lokoja.

In Kaduna, the situation remains the same with other states in the north regarding the delivery of CNG buses to the state and the provision of gas stations.

When contacted on how successful the Compressed Natural Gas-powered commercial buses which President Tinubu promised to provide upon the removal of petrol subsidy in 2023, is in Kaduna state, Chairman of NLC in Kaduna state, Ayuba Suleiman, said he could not give specific and clear information on the matter.

Suleiman said, “I can’t give any information about the Federal Government intervention on CNG buses in Kaduna, simply because I have no idea of any such buses operating for now. I know of only one private filling Station for CNG at Gonin Gora here in Kaduna. As a labour leader and to my knowledge, the project is a failure due to lack of political commitment from the Government.”

However, the state government has, after securing federal and international support, has expressed readiness to commence what it called the 1st BRT Project in Northern Nigeria.

Governor Uba Sani has recently launched the construction of the Kaduna Bus Rapid Transport (KBRT) project, a 24-kilometre transit system which he said will transform public transportation in the state, enhance mobility, foster sustainable urban development, and improve the overall quality of life for residents in Kaduna.

He said the project, a collaborative effort between the Kaduna State Transport Regulatory Authority (KADSTRA) and a French firm, was part of the administration’s broader vision to modernise the state’s transport infrastructure.