The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said that the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), is the solution to the current rising price of diesel. IPMAN National President, Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, in an interview with New Telegraph over the weekend, stated that the government should encourage the use of CNG. He stated that the adoption of CNG would reduce the hardship Nigerians are currently going through.
Okoronkwo said: “Diesel is rising higher because of the market fundamentals and the realities of the market. How much is crude today? That is why we are focusing on alternative energy. CNG that is the only way to go. That way, everybody will have succor and affordable energy. “The government needs to know that this is the only way that prosperity and happiness will come back to this nation by this alternative, we are not going to import and it is domiciled here in this country, in megatonnes. There is no other. “It will reduce the hardship of Nigerians and create more business opportunities. It will also create enormous wealth. Industries that are running at a higher cost now will begin to run at cheaper energy. Electricity will also have a new direction. So this is the way to go.” He added: “No country moves forward depending only on a particular product. So there must be ambitions and conscious efforts towards that direction.The FG should come in and create the market.
How do you create the market? It is by making money available to people to do the conversion and buy new cards that will run on CNG with little interest in it. “The government can also encourage marketers so that CNG will be readily available. The way of encouragement is to begin to create a market, making the CNG kits and the ancillaries within the value chain available. There is no other way.” He appealed to Nigerians to bear the situation, adding that things would be better if Dangote Refinery comes on stream by October as people have been informed, and the Port Harcourt Refinery resumes operation by December as promised by the government and the NNPCL.
He stated that local refining would reduce pressure on foreign exchange. Okoronkwo said: “Nigerians should appreciate that nothing lasts forever. Very soon, it will go down too. By the time we increase our refining capacity, I hear that Dangote will soon roll out, and PortHarcourt will also come on stream before the end of the year, these are pointers that there is serious hope along the line. Nigerians should absolutely embrace CNG.”
The price of diesel in Nigeria has skyrocketed to N1000 per liter and above. Findings by New Telegraph revealed that it was sold for N1,000 per litre in many parts of Lagos, Ogun, and Ondo states. It was also discovered that in some areas in Abuja, the price had gone as high as N,100 per litre. The development has raised anxiety and outcry among Nigerians who are currently suffering from untold hardship as a result of high fuel prices caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.
The President of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), Benneth Korie, told journalists that the high diesel price was significantly impacting the haulage transportation industry. He said the industry was facing challenges because of the price increase. According to him, there are problems of loan accessibility from financial institutions and product procurement. Many factors have been adduced as to the cause of the skyrocketing diesel price. Investigations revealed that there are constraints in Nigeria that contribute to the high diesel cost.
