By Peter Omopo
Members of the House of Representatives from northern Nigeria on Thursday decried the absence of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion centres in the North-East and North-West geopolitical zones, describing it as unfair and exclusionary.
The lawmakers voiced their concerns during deliberation on a motion titled “Call to establish more compressed natural gas conversion centres across Nigeria,” sponsored by the Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki, who represents Dala Federal Constituency in Kano State.
Madaki noted that the Federal Government had rolled out CNG conversion centres across several states as part of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, aimed at reducing the cost of living, lowering pollution levels, and promoting cleaner energy.
However, he lamented that only Kaduna State in the North-West was listed as a beneficiary, with the entire North-East region completely left out. “States like Kano, Borno, Katsina, and Sokoto, which are commercially viable, have been excluded from the initiative,” Madaki stated.
Highlighting the distribution, he noted that Lagos has 70 centres, Edo has 11, Oyo 17, Ogun seven, and Delta, Rivers, and other southern states have several each. He argued that the lack of inclusion for other northern states was unjustifiable.
“This neglect raises concerns about equity and national inclusivity. Commuters in these regions are not being taken into consideration,” he said, calling on the Federal Government to correct the imbalance by establishing more CNG centres in the North-East and North-West zones.
The House of Representatives is expected to further deliberate on measures to ensure equitable distribution of CNG infrastructure nationwide.
