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PCNGi: Automobile CNG Attracted $491m Investments In Last 1 Year

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CNG Conversion

PCNGi: Automobile CNG Attracted $491m Investments In Last 1 Year

PCNGi: Automobile CNG attracted $491m investments in last 1 year. The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) says automobile CNG attracted $491 million (N760.64 billion) in private investments and generated 84,000 direct and indirect jobs over the past year.

Michael Oluwagbemi, PCNGi programme director, spoke on Monday while addressing State House correspondents at the fifth edition of ‘Meet the Press,’ organised by the presidential communications team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Oluwagbemi attributed the success to extensive stakeholder engagement and public awareness campaigns conducted between May and November 2024.

“We have attracted over $491 million of investments in the past year to AutoCNG, and we are very proud of it. This has created over 9,000 direct and 75,000 indirect jobs,” he said.

“After an intensive stakeholder engagement and public awareness campaign from May to November 2024, the PCNGi most important achievement was to convince the private sector to invest critical funds alongside the government’s investments upon stimulation of demand by commercial vehicle operators and private vehicle users alike.”

According to the director, Nigeria’s capacity to convert vehicles from petrol or diesel to bi-fuel systems has increased by 3,000 percent, with the number of conversion centers growing from just seven to over 200 nationwide.

Oluwagbemi announced that the PCNGi team is set to achieve 10,000 vehicle conversions by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

He further disclosed that 405 buses have been deployed as part of agreements with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) during wage negotiations.

The PCNGi official acknowledged the existing shortage of CNG supply but assured that the newly launched refueling on-lending programme would help address the challenge by providing essential equipment at cost to key conversion centers and refueling partners.

He said by June 2025, the PCNGi team aims to extend CNG coverage from five to 17 states, utilising the ‘Last-Mile Gas Infrastructure Strategy’.

“25 sites are billed to benefit and 15 states are slated for this, already the first site in Kwara State is live and Kogi, Ekiti Rivers and Abuja will soon join them before May 1, 2025, by June 12 we shall have Kaduna, Abia, Enugu joining the fray with Niger, Kano and Benue following shortly thereafter,” Oluwagbemi said.

“To further bolster this base infrastructure, we have cooped our private sector partners to deploy over 150 new refueling locations in the next 18months.

“NNPC have already deployed 12 sites, with 8 to go this quarter, and the approval for additional 100 sought and secured for the next 18-24 months.

“We are aware that as a result of our successful awareness campaign last year and ground breaking initiatives like CIP that pay the private sector to convert vehicles to CNG, there has been a visible gap in CNG availability at the last Mile Gas Infrastructure Scheme, we note the longer queues in some localities but assure this is temporary.”

‘PLANS UNDERWAY TO INTRODUCE NIGERIAN GAS VEHICLE MONITORING SYSTEM’

The PCNGi programme director also announced that plans are in progress to introduce the Nigerian gas vehicle monitoring system (NGVMS), which will ensure that only properly converted vehicles can refuel at gas stations and operate on Nigerian roads.
He assured that the implementation of NGVMS would completely prevent illegal fabrication of CNG cylinders.

“The necessary steps to launch NGMS are ongoing are ongoing, we expect it to be in place by year end,” he added.

CNG Conversion

Automobile CNG

Addressing concerns about institutional capacity and public skepticism over safety, Oluwagbemi said the PCNGi has tackled the issues by collaborating with the federal ministry of petroleum to implement comprehensive monitoring of CNG and all gas-powered vehicles.

He highlighted ongoing collaborations with key agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

Oluwagbemi added that the initiative is set to become active within the next 60 days.

Crime

Brazil Fines TikTok $30m Over Failure to Implement Child Safety

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TikTok Not A Social Media Platform, Official Reveals

Brazil Fines TikTok $30m Over Failure to Implement Child Safety

Brazil’s data protection agency on Tuesday fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it said was a “powerful signal” to social media companies.
Eereporter.com

Brazil has taken a tough stance on the regulation of social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 years to have their accounts linked to those of their parents.

An enforcement director with the ANPD data protection agency, Fabricio Lopes, told a press conference that TikTok “was not taking the necessary measures to prevent adolescents from accessing the platform and from having the data of these children and adolescents processed.”

This data was “being used to offer advertising to adolescents.”

He said the fine of 153.7m reais ($29.9 million) was a “powerful signal to other platforms regarding how seriously the ANPD takes this work” and that the agency hoped they “get the message.”

TikTok agreed last week to pay $400m to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice over claims that the video-sharing platform collected children’s personal data without parental permission.

– Tougher enforcement –
This month, the ANPD also ordered popular streaming platform Discord to suspend livestreams and video calls after a teenage girl was allegedly encouraged to take her own life during a broadcast.

The agency told AFP that an appeal filed by Discord on Monday against the suspension is under review.

ANPD director Lorena Coutinho said the agency had, last week, initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online.

In addition to the fine, the ANPD ordered TikTok parent company ByteDance to delete data collected in violation of regulations.

Coutinho said TikTok had committed to suspend all adverts for users who are not logged in.

TikTok has committed to “implementing a compliance plan to improve the protection of children and adolescents,” the ANPD said.

Brazil Fines TikTok

Brazil Fines TikTok

The platform will be required to automatically apply stricter privacy settings to accounts belonging to children under the age of 16, strengthen parental supervision systems, and implement stricter content filters.

TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from AFP.

In 2024, the platform X was blocked for 40 days in Brazil, until the social media network owned by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, complied with the Supreme Court’s orders to remove accounts spreading disinformation.
Eereporter.com

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Economy

Umahi Leads the Way as Tinubu Orders Immediate Action on Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road Intervention

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Umahi

Umahi Leads the Way as Tinubu Orders Immediate Action on Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road Intervention

The Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON, has moved swiftly to address the worsening condition of the Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti road in Ekiti and Kogi States, and Benin-Agbor-Asaba Roads following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for urgent intervention to ease the hardship being faced by motorists and commuters.
Eereporter.com

Umahi, who expressed deep concern over the deplorable condition of the road and the suffering of road users who have spent hours and, in some cases, days on the route, said the Federal Government was determined to take immediate corrective measures while working towards permanent solutions.

“President Tinubu, GCFR, has directed the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently intervene and ensure that necessary corrective actions are taken to restore movement on the affected roads as quickly as possible.” Said Umahi

The Minister, in response to the directive, has already set machinery in motion for immediate action.

As part of the intervention, Umahi directed the Minister of State for Works to lead a team of ministry officials to the Ifaki-Kabba-Ado Ekiti axis to assess the situation and commence urgent remedial works.

The assignment is already on as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, with officials of the Ministry on the ground to begin the intervention.

While the intervention team moved into Ekiti and Kogi States, Umahi himself headed to Benin, Edo State, alongside members of the National Assembly Works Committees, to initiate a similar coordinated intervention on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road.

The Benin meeting is expected to bring together key stakeholders, including representatives of the Edo and Delta State Governments and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with the aim of finding immediate solutions to the challenges confronting motorists on the strategic corridor.

Umahi also took responsibility for the unfortunate situation on the affected roads and apologised to commuters who have been stranded or delayed for several hours and days.

Umahi

Benin-Agbor-Asaba

He assured road users that the Federal Government’s response would go beyond temporary relief, with immediate measures being pursued alongside permanent solutions to restore the affected roads and improve their long-term reliability.

Francis Nwaze
Senior Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Works (Media)
August 25, 2026
Eereporter.com

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Economy

NNPC Cares: Boost for Nationwide Medical Access as NMSL Deploys Laparoscopic Instrument in Abuja

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Medical

NNPC Cares: Boost for Nationwide Medical Access as NMSL Deploys Laparoscopic Instrument in Abuja

NNPC Medical Services Limited (NMSL) has deployed articulating laparoscopic instruments at its main hospital in Utako, Abuja. The machine is an advanced surgical equipment designed to enhance precision and flexibility during laparoscopic procedures.
Eereporter.com

The latest deployment widens the range of procedures available at the medical facility and represents a boost for healthcare access in the country.

Medical

NNPC

Acting Managing Director / Chief Operating Officer, NMSL, Dr. Dickson Bada, received the equipment from SQI Limited, represented by Dr. Emmanuel Otitoloju.

NNPC Limited continues to invest in its medical facilities, which are open to the public nationwide, towards improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Eereporter.com

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