Nation
MOMAN Hails FG’s Autogas Scheme
The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) says the autogas scheme of the Federal Government would bring long-term economic benefits to the country if sustained.
The MOMAN’s Chairman, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, made the assertion in an interview with newsmen, yesterday in Lagos.
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, unveiled the Natural Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) and Auto-gas initiative in the country with the inauguration of gas-powered Mass Transit Buses.
The president also inaugurated over 10 Liquefied Petroleum Gas-powered vehicles for various government agencies and users as part of the flagging off exercise.
Buhari called on Nigerians to embrace the use of gas as an alternative to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), especially in view of the nation’s huge gas reserve.
According to the NGEP, the committee behind deepening gas utilisation in Nigeria, autogas service stations are already in operation in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna states.
Others are Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Rivers, and Bayelsa states.
Reacting to the development, Oyebanji said Nigeria, a gas country with 203TCF of proven gas reserves, should utilise the resource for the development of the country.
He said the scheme was initiated as a way of reducing Nigeria’s dependence on oil, while at the same time providing a cheaper and cleaner alternative source of energy for Nigerians.
“Therefore, I see the launch of the autogas scheme as a step in the right direction. Government needs to stay the course and provide incentives to the industry to enable it grow,” Oyebanji said.
He said MOMAN had keyed into the scheme and was ready to support the government to ensure its success.
“The NGEP met with MOMAN and other stakeholders and told us to put in expression of interest on how the scheme should be rolled out because they wanted to do it quickly.
“So, we have expressed interest and they have started with some companies for the roll out.
“We are also engaging the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to get approval for co-location of Compressed Natural Gas equipment in some of our facilities,” Oyebanji said.
He said government should provide conversion support to vehicle owners, grant tax holiday to investors in gas facilities and also grant waiver on importation of gas equipment to accelerate the process.
Oyebanji said that gas pricing should also be right to encourage switch by vehicle owners, while domestic allocation to the market should be increased by the Nigeria LNG Limited.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
