The Federal Government has announced plans to deploy 300 National Youth Service Corps members to various compressed natural gas conversion centres nationwide after they complete training and receive certification as CNG technicians.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Monitoring and Delivery, Dr Titilope Gbadamosi, disclosed this during the launch of a CNG Retrofitting Training Programme for corps members at the NYSC FCT Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja.
The development was contained in a statement shared on the NYSC Facebook page on Wednesday.
Gbadamosi said the training would be conducted across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones as part of efforts to equip young Nigerians with the skills needed to participate in the country’s transition to compressed natural gas.
She explained that the programme was designed to support the annual conversion of 100,000 vehicles from petrol to CNG.
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.
“The National Automotive and Development Council (NADD) has committed its technical authority in certification standard and full funding to this effort.”
Gbadamosi added that “300 corps members would be trained and certified as technicians and attached to different CNG centres.”
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said incorporating CNG technical training into the NYSC programme would increase employment opportunities for corps members and provide them with entrepreneurial options beyond their mandatory service year.
Olawande encouraged participants to take full advantage of the training, assuring them that the ministry would continue to promote initiatives aimed at supporting youth entrepreneurship and empowerment.
He also urged the corps members to contribute to changing public attitudes towards energy consumption by adopting more affordable and sustainable energy options and complementing their academic qualifications with practical skills.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, described the initiative as evidence of collaboration among government agencies and reaffirmed the scheme’s commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Nafiu noted that the NYSC was prepared to contribute to Nigeria’s ongoing energy transition, adding that the scheme had equipped more than three million corps members with various vocational and entrepreneurial skills since 2012.
“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.
“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.”
