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Access CALM Fund To Convert Vehicles To CNG, FG Urges Nigerians
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi), has urged Nigerians to explore the Credit Access for Light and Mobility (CALM) fund to obtain affordable loans to convert petrol cars to CNG.
The P-CNGi said the CALM fund, being disbursed through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) initiative, was aimed at enabling consumer credit for CNG conversions and solar energy.
Mr Michael Oluwagbemi, the Programme Director/Chief Executive, P-CNGi, in an interview with The Tide’s source in Abuja on Sunday, described the CREDICORP initiative as its third programme aimed at enabling CNG kits affordability.
The Tide recalls that in response to the growing financial strain on Nigerians due to high energy and transportation costs, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), CREDICORP, and the P-CNGi in 2024 unveiled the fund.
This new fund aims to provide affordable credit for Nigerians to obtain CNG conversion kits and other energy-saving solutions, making essential services more accessible to Nigerians while promoting sustainability.
To ensure affordability, the Federal Government, through the P-CNGi had rolled out three programmes namely – free conversion of mass transit vehicles, targeting one million by 2027, Ride-shares vehicles’ 50 per cent discount conversion and CALM fund
Oluwagbemi said the CALM fund would enable Nigerians to obtain loans through the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), providing a pathway to sustainable energy without the financial burden of upfront costs.
He explained that under the CREDICORP fund, Nigerians, who owned private vehicles, especially the salary earners and entrepreneurs were linked up to get money upfront for conversion based on their income levels.
Oluwagbemi, while urging Nigerians to explore the ample opportunity by applying online on www.credicorp.ng, said soon, there would be an opportunity for motorists to access it from the 193 CNG conversion centres across the country.
According to him, the CREDICORP does not set interest rates; rather it gives money to the financial institutions which set the interest rate based on the person’s risk.
He further said that the conversion would be financed based on one’s income, while loan repayment duration would be three years.
“This programme is suitable for the top 10 per cent of Nigerians, who use private cars and most of them are civil servants who earn salaries and work as entrepreneurs.
“If you are spending N70, 000 to N80, 000 per week, it means that in 52 weeks you will be spending N3.64 million on petrol.
“If you decide to use CNG exclusively, in 52 weeks you spend N353, 000, that means you are saving a lot of money, but you cannot generate that savings unless you convert your cars.
“Conversion ranges from N800, 000 to N1.2 million and the loan will be given according to the kind of car one has, while the conversion will be financed based on your income level
“There’s no reason why one cannot afford it because you are saving N50, 000 to N100, 000 weekly, because you have converted your vehicle, and part of the savings can be used for repayment.
He said that President Bola Tinubu in 2024 had set a goal for the initiative to achieve one million conversions of vehicles in 2027, adding that not all cars were convertible and compatible.
“We signed an agreement with the conversion centres, we are in the process of finalising that programme, as soon as we finalise it, you can drive into any of the centres for vehicle inspection and financing, instead of going online.
“Initially we set up the website to know the level of interest and we have received a number of interest and more than 25,000 people have applied,’’ he said.
He assured that the CNG would remain the sustainable energy source, adding that there was no way natural gas would be as expensive as crude oil in the world.
According to him, the programme is focused on three specific things in terms of execution, namely, conversion, platform for deployment of buses and tricycles, running on CNG and enabling refueling infrastructure.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.