FG Trains NYSC Members In CNG Vehicle Conversion In South-East

The Federal Government has commenced a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle conversion training programme for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the South-East.

The programme is being implemented by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) under the NYSC’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) scheme.

The Enugu edition of the training was inaugurated on Tuesday as part of efforts by the Federal Government to equip young Nigerians with technical skills and create opportunities for self-employment in the emerging CNG industry.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Youth Initiatives, Dr Titi Gbadamosi, said the training would enable participating corps members to acquire the technical knowledge required to convert petrol-powered vehicles to CNG.

According to her, the initiative is also designed to position corps members to take advantage of the growing demand for CNG conversion services across the country.

Gbadamosi said the Federal Government was targeting the conversion of 100,000 vehicles to CNG annually as part of its efforts to promote alternative sources of automotive fuel following the removal of fuel subsidy.

She explained that training young Nigerians in CNG vehicle conversion would help build a pool of skilled technicians capable of supporting the expansion of CNG infrastructure and services.

The initiative is part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to encourage the adoption of CNG as an alternative to petrol and reduce the impact of rising fuel costs on Nigerians.

The NADDC representative, Ikechukwu Okoha, said the council would support corps members who successfully complete the training by providing them with free licences to establish CNG conversion centres after their national service.

Okoha said the licensing arrangement would give trained beneficiaries an opportunity to turn the skills acquired during the programme into viable businesses and sources of livelihood.

He encouraged the participating corps members to take the training seriously and prepare to utilise the technical skills beyond their one-year national service.

The training in Enugu follows similar CNG retrofitting sessions previously conducted for NYSC members in Abuja and Lagos.

The expansion of the programme to the South-East is expected to give more corps members access to specialised automotive skills while supporting the Federal Government’s target of increasing the number of CNG-converted vehicles on Nigerian roads.

Also speaking, the NYSC Coordinator in Enugu State, Oluwakemi Awolola, urged the corps members to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire skills that could provide them with sustainable means of livelihood after their service year.

Awolola encouraged them to move beyond the traditional search for paid employment and consider entrepreneurship as a means of creating jobs for themselves and others.

She said the acquisition of practical skills through the SAED programme could help corps members become employers of labour and contribute to economic development.

The Federal Government’s CNG initiative has increasingly focused on expanding the number of vehicles that can operate on compressed natural gas, while also building the technical workforce needed to support vehicle conversion and maintenance.

Through the NYSC training programme, the government is seeking to combine youth empowerment with its broader transition towards alternative automotive fuel, giving corps members both technical expertise and an avenue for entrepreneurship.