Federal Government to Post 300 Youth Volunteers at CNG Facilities Following Orientation

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The Federal Government has said 300 National Youth Service Corps members will be attached to different compressed natural gas conversion centres across the country after being trained and certified as CNG technicians.

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The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Monitoring and Delivery, Dr Titilope Gbadamosi, disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the CNG Retrofitting Training Programme for corps members at the NYSC FCT Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja.

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This was contained in a statement posted on NYSC Facebook page on Wednesday.

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According to Gbadamosi, the programme will be delivered across the six geopolitical zones and is part of efforts to place Nigerian youths at the forefront of the country’s transition to CNG.

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She said the programme was targeted at retrofitting 100,000 vehicles annually.

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She said, “Following the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2033, compressed natural gas (CNG) emerged as the most viable and affordable alternative for Nigerian motorists and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu set a national target of 100,000 vehicles to be retrofitted annually.

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“The National Automotive and Development Council (NADD) has committed its technical authority in certification standard and full funding to this effort.”

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Gbadamosi added that “300 corps members would be trained and certified as technicians and attached to different CNG centres.”

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The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the introduction of CNG training for corps members would create more job opportunities and expand their entrepreneurship opportunities beyond their service year.

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He urged the corps members to maximise the opportunity provided by the training, assuring them that his ministry would continue to support and empower young people towards entrepreneurship.

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Olawande also advised the corps members to change the narrative by embracing cheaper and sustainable energy while using their skills to complement their academic certificates.

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The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, said the initiative demonstrated inter-agency collaboration and the scheme’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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Nafiu said the NYSC was ready to support Nigeria’s energy transition, adding that the scheme had trained more than three million corps members in various skills since 2012.

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“The CNG retrofitting training supports the one trillion dollar innovation driven economy. This carefully selected programme would bridge the gap between classroom learning and real world applications.

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“The NYSC is ready and open for business, together we can build a robust innovative and economy, powered by the energy, ingenuity and enterprise of our vibrant youth population.”

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