Nigerians have expressed concerns over the safety of the Compressed Natural Gas converted vehicles following recent explosions involving some vehicles. They raised questions about the safety standards and regulatory oversight of the conversions.
In May, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, led a delegation of the Federal Government on a visit to the scene of a CNG truck explosion at Ita-Oshin, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The truck belonging to Gascon Marine Limited exploded and claimed one life, while about six vehicles and two shops were burnt.
Ekpo also cited a second explosion, which he said involved another CNG-powered vehicle in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The latest explosion in Benin, Edo State, caught the attention of many Nigerians who were considering converting their petrol-powered vehicles to CNG.
The Edo incident, which occurred at a NIPCO CNG station at Ikpoba Hill, left two people injured.
According to NIPCO Gas, the cylinder installed in the vehicle was later identified as a fake, fabricated, substandard unit not designed for CNG, adding that it exploded after refill with around four standard cubic metres of gas.
The driver was said to have fled the scene immediately after the incident that left two persons injured.
“While no fatalities were recorded, two individuals sustained injuries. One person suffered a leg injury, and another sustained an eye injury. Based on the attending doctor’s recommendation, one of the individuals will require surgery at a different hospital. Our team is ensuring they receive the necessary care and treatment,” NIPCO Gas said in a statement made available to our correspondent.
Worry over CNG
Nigerians expressed concerns over how safe CNG is particularly in a country like Nigeria where extreme weather conditions and poor vehicle maintenance can exacerbate safety issues.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, a commercial driver, Sunday Adewuyi said, “First, I don’t have money to do such a conversion but even if I have, I will not do it because I can’t risk an explosion. You know the type of sun we have in this country; one day one’s boot will explode. I don’t want such to happen to me.”
Another driver in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Udo Anefiok, said the risks were too high.
“I don’t plan to convert my taxi because I am aware of the risk. They said it is not like normal gas but my brother, gas is gas. I cannot risk my life,” he stated.
Netizens also took to X (formerly Twitter) to express worry over the safety of adoption of CNG-powered vehicles.
An X user, Ahmed Abubakar, said, “Isn’t it enough that we have had even one explosion? How many explosions do we need to see before you all agree that CNG is not safe, at least for us? Never once in my 30+ years have I known a fuel-powered car to explode just like that. It’s not safe, not practical, not realistic.”
“That CNG car explosion isn’t shocking to me at all. There will certainly be many more too. You don’t deploy something like this en masse to a country where there is zero regard for safety without putting any comprehensive mitigation measures to avoid this kind of accident”, another user, Deji Balogun, said.
Chidi Okereke warned motorists to be careful before attempting to use CNG vehicles.
He warned, “If your car is not factory-fitted with the CNG component, you just might be driving a bomb. Please consider your loved ones and the people in the possible explosion radius.”
“This CNG thing is so dangerous, judging by eye test. Then there’s the bad roads factor, which means the gas cylinder will more often than not be bouncing in the boot of the car. Then talk about our relatively hot temperature. A perfect recipe for a gas explosion, if you ask me”, Kunle Olaitan, said.
Another X user, Onyinye, said, “I think those people that will be putting CNG cylinders in their cars should have a separate lane on the road provided by the government. So that gas leaks or explosions can just be on one side and the rest of us can go our merry way”.
A professor of Energy with specialisation in Oil, Natural Gas, Electricity, and Energy Transitions at the University of Lagos, Dayo Ayoade, criticised the Federal Government for not putting in place policies to ensure the safe use of CNG-powered vehicles.
Ayoade said, “Safety is a matter of policy and implementation; the government has to play its role in ensuring the safe use of CNG-powered vehicles. Do we even have sufficient certified technicians to do the CNG conversion?
“CNG is a compressed gas; it is dangerous to drive around in a vehicle where the quality of the equipment is unknown.
“The Standard Organisation of Nigeria and other regulatory bodies have to put in place mechanisms to ensure that not only do we have access to buy quality equipment, but we also need to know whether the person installing the CNG is a qualified technician. I do not think that is being done. I think government should do better in terms of safety, they should also do more in enlightening members of the public on the safe use of CNG vehicles”.
FG begins probe
The Federal Government has, however, allayed fears among Nigerians that the CNG is unsafe for vehicles.
The FG adopted gas as its transitional fuel at a time when the world is seeking an alternative to fossil fuels.
When President Bola Tinubu came on board, he removed fuel subsidy, a decision that caused the price of petrol to rise above the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians, now at an average of N1,000 per litre.
As the economic hardship continued to bite harder, Tinubu set up the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative for the promotion of CNG as a cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel.
For months, the PCNGI intensified efforts to ensure Nigerians converted their vehicles to CNG to reduce the cost of transportation.
The Programme Director/Chief Executive of PCNGI, Michael Oluwagbemi, assured Nigerians that CNG was safe.
Speaking in a brief chat with our correspondent, Oluwagbemi noted that the owner of the car in the Edo explosion did not get his cylinder from an authorised government dealer.
He disclosed that the car owner contacted a welder, who assisted him in fabricating a fake cylinder.
“CNG is safe. We know what happened in Edo. The driver contacted a welder to get a substandard fabricated cylinder. The regulators are on it,” he said.
In a statement on Friday, Oluwagbemi said, “The Presidential CNG Initiative notes the unfortunate incident that involved an illegally modified vehicle at a NIPCO CNG Station at Ikpoba Hill in Benin City on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
“The PCNGI commiserate with those injured in this avoidable incident and is thankful that no lives were lost. The PCNGI also notes that the safe handling of all hydrocarbons is critical to their safe use.
“A close examination of the cylinder in question in Benin City shows it was welded and modified and not approved for use for CNG. The police, regulatory authorities and management of NIPCO are undertaking a painstaking investigation of the incident and we are coordinating with them,” he stated.
Oluwagbemi said the incident reiterated the impetus of the PCNGI and its partners (at SON, NMDPRA, National Automotive Design And Development Council and Federal Road Safety Corps) on the soon-to-be-launched Nigeria Gas Vehicle Monitoring System “to tackle any bad actors in the ecosystem that seek to make this safer, cheaper, cleaner and more reliable source of fuelling risky for all.”
He called on all stakeholders to cooperate with the new system of regulation and ensure full compliance.
“Only accredited conversion centres must be patronised and safe handling of CNG just like petrol ensures the safety of all,” he added.