Minna motorists protest three-month CNG shortage at NNPC station
- Vehicle owners in Minna staged a peaceful protest at the NNPC Mega Station on the Western Bypass.
- They say CNG has not been dispensed there for three months despite costly engine conversions.
- The station's manager could not be reached, and attendants declined to comment.
Motorists in Minna, the Niger State capital, carry dia frustration go NNPC Mega Station on Western Bypass on Sunday, dey protest say Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) no dey available there for three months.
Di vehicle owners carry placards and call on di station management and authorities to bring back supply. Vanguard report say di protest peaceful.
Many of di motorists talk say dem pay to convert dia engines from petrol, wey dem call Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), to CNG because e cheaper. Wit no gas to buy, dem talk say di savings wey dem count on no come, and dem don go back to buying di more expensive petrol.
Wetin di motorists talk
One of dem, Israel Ogbonnaya, tell Vanguard say some people convert dia vehicles since January and dem never recover di cost. He talk say di station don down for three months and say repeated visits for answers no bring any.
Another motorist, Mohammed Doko Saidu, talk say he spend over one million naira to install CNG, only to find no gas in Minna. He talk say he had to disconnect some of di cylinders wey dem fit inside im car because nothing dey to fill dem.
Vanguard report say one part of di station CNG dispensing machine develop fault and dem leave am unattended, leaving motorists wit CNG engines across di state capital wit no option but petrol.
Di protesters talk say dem want di station management and other stakeholders to fix di problem quick quick. Dem warn say another protest, wit larger crowd including commercial tricycle operators wey dey run on CNG, fit follow if nothing change.
Wetin go happen next
Dem no fit reach di manager of di NNPC Mega Station for comment, according to Vanguard, and attendants on duty refuse to talk for management. No word on when dem go repair di faulty dispenser.
Di director of Niger State Ministry of Transport, Muhammad Abdullah, tell Vanguard on Sunday say di protest no be matter for di ministry but for NNPC. He talk say di ministry own CNG plans never take off and dem still dey work on am.
For now, motorists in Minna wey convert dia cars to save money on fuel dey pay more to keep dem on road, and transport costs in di city fit rise as a result.
