Invest in natural gas vehicles now, OMAA CEO tell Nigerians

The chief executive officer of OMAA, Chinedu Oguegbu, says the time has come for Nigerians to start using natural gas-powered vehicles.

Oguegbu stated this at the last Nigeria Auto Journalists Association’s (NAJA) Annual training and capacity building workshop held in Lagos during his technical presentation of  the opportunities arising from the use of natural gas vehicles.

The theme  of this year’s event was “Migration to Electric Vehicles and Gas-powered Vehicles; Opportunities and Challenges for Nigeria”.

Apart from the lead sponsor; the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), other sponsors of this year’s training workshop are Toyota Nigeria Limited, Weststar Associates Limited, franchisees of the Mercedes brand, Jet Systems Limited; assemblers of Jet brands of electric vehicles for passenger and commercial uses and Autochek Africa; online automotive marketing and financing option providers.

Other sponsors include Stallion Motors CFAO Motors, Coscharis Motors, OMAA, Kojo Motors, franchise owners of Yutong electric buses and the Federal Roads Safety Commission, (FRSC).

As one of the training facilitors,  Oguegbu said that the increasing importance of natural gas in the world which is expected to form 26% of the energy mix by 2040 cannot be  under-estimated.

According to the boss of OMAA bus manufacturer,  “Government policies and technological advancements have led to focus on increasing the output of electric vehicles (EVs) and natural gas vehicles (NGVs). Transportation currently accounts for 15% of Carbon Emissions and vehicles represent a major part of this figure”.

He added “With Nigeria committing to the Paris Agreement to reduce the rate of climate change globally, there is an increased push by the government to promote more environmentally friendly vehicles: EVs, NGVs and Hydrogen.

The advantages of using natural gas include up to 60 percent savings in the cost of fuel relative to other options like diesel and petrol, and up to 90 percent reduction in knocks and carbon emission for a healthier, cleaner and more environmentally friendly fuel alternative.

Another opportunity lies in the development of export businesses with other African markets,  thanks to the implementation of AfCFTA.

According to Oguegbu, mass education of the public as well as consistent government policy is also required in order to promote investments in natural gas vehicle assembly and production in Nigeria.

Chinedu Oguegbu said during the technical presentation that OMAA is one of the pioneers in this field of local assembly of gas-powered vehicles.

From its facility in Igbo Ukwu, Anambra State, OMAA provides sustainable energy and mobility solutions to address today’s environmental challenges, while empowering people to create rugged solutions that are relevant to their local economy.

The company launched the first local assembled, dual-fuel, natural gas-powered commercial buses in Nigeria earlier this year.

Mike Ochonma