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.