The Federal Government is to train 100,000 Nigerians locally on how to manufacture and assemble Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Nigeria.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, said the target of training 100,000 Nigerians — not less than 1,000 in each state — and sponsoring 100 of them to China for training forms part of the inclusivity clause of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Agenda.
Nigeria has also engaged a Chinese firm, New Power Technology (NPT), in a strategic partnership to localise the manufacturing and assembly of CNG and electric vehicle infrastructure in the country.
The partnership, which is backed by the Chinese government, will focus on local production and assembly of CNG dispensers, refuelling stations and EV charging facilities as part of efforts to reduce import dependence and promote cleaner transport energy.
The development followed a meeting between a delegation of NPT, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Liu Shihua, and the management of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi), alongside officials of the Vice President’s office at the State House, Abuja.
The Vice President, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said the initiative aligns with directives to adopt CNG-powered vehicles across government institutions to ease transportation challenges.
He noted that Nigeria, with an average population age of 21.4 years, has the potential to replicate China’s experience in electrifying transportation through technology transfer and localisation.
He also lauded Chinese support for policy and financial backing in building EV infrastructure, adding that multiple engagements had secured preferential pricing for equipment and systems.
Earlier, Mr. Shihua said the firm aims to build a full electric vehicle ecosystem, including vehicle retrofitting, battery swapping networks, and digital maintenance platforms.
He disclosed plans to convert one million fuel-powered tricycles to electric tricycles within three years and establish 10,000 charging and swapping stations, creating up to 50,000 jobs.
He added that Chinese technical experts would be deployed to Nigeria to support training and infrastructure development, with additional backing from China’s Science and Technology Bureau of Xi’an under its “Thousand Talents Program.”
He also said 60 to 70 Nigerian students would be trained in China under fully funded programmes, who would later serve as “seed trainers” to build local capacity across the country.
Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr. Nurudeen Zauro, said the initiative aligns with the goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy through strategic partnerships and innovation transfer.
Executive Chairman of the PCNGi, Ismaeel Ahmed, said the partnership would reduce transportation costs and improve livelihoods, noting that transport accounts for a significant portion of household income in Nigeria.
Deji Elumoye
