The Federal Government has announced plans to train and certify 300 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members as compressed natural gas (CNG) technicians and attach them to CNG conversion centres across Nigeria.
This the federal government says will aid the government in producing more CNG-enabled vehicles across the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Monitoring and Delivery, Dr Titilope Gbadamosi, disclosed this on Wednesday at the opening of the CNG Retrofitting Training Programme for corps members at the NYSC FCT Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja.
According to Gbadamosi, the training programme will be implemented across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones as part of efforts to equip young Nigerians with technical skills and position them to benefit from the country’s transition to CNG.
She said the programme was designed to support the national target of retrofitting 100,000 vehicles annually.
Gbadamosi explained that the Federal Government considers CNG a viable and affordable alternative fuel for motorists, adding that the National Automotive and Development Council has committed its technical expertise, certification standards and funding to the initiative.
She stated that the 300 corps members would be trained and certified as CNG technicians before being attached to different conversion centres.
CNG training to create jobs for Nigerian youths.
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the initiative would create employment opportunities for corps members while expanding their entrepreneurial prospects beyond the mandatory NYSC service year.
Olawande urged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the training and acquire practical skills that could complement their academic qualifications.
He also encouraged young Nigerians to embrace cheaper and sustainable energy solutions and use their technical expertise to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
NYSC backs Nigeria’s energy transition.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, described the CNG retrofitting training as an example of inter-agency collaboration and support for the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Nafiu said NYSC was prepared to contribute to Nigeria’s energy transition, noting that the scheme had trained more than three million corps members in various skills since 2012.
He said the CNG initiative would help bridge the gap between classroom education and practical workplace experience while giving young Nigerians skills relevant to emerging economic opportunities.
The programme is expected to strengthen the country’s pool of trained CNG technicians while supporting the Federal Government’s broader efforts to expand CNG adoption and reduce dependence on conventional automotive fuels.
Some Nigerians have commended the federal government for the step at training the Corps Members as (CNG) technicians, describing it as a right step in the right direction.
Others said selecting just 300 Corps Members for the project is too small, considering the number of unemployed youths in the country.
They also expressed optimism that more youths will be selected for the training which they said would have positive impact on the younger generations.
