By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Federal Government says 300 National Youth Service Corps members will be trained and certified as compressed natural gas technicians and deployed to CNG conversion centres across Nigeria.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Monitoring and Delivery, Dr. Titilope Gbadamosi, disclosed this in Abuja.
She spoke at the opening of a CNG retrofitting training programme for corps members at the NYSC FCT Orientation Camp in Kubwa, according to a statement posted on NYSC Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to the NYSC, the programme will be implemented across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Gbadamosi said the initiative is designed to position young Nigerians at the centre of the country’s transition to CNG.
She said the programme supports the government’s target of retrofitting 100,000 vehicles annually.
Gbadamosi added that the National Automotive and Development Council would provide technical certification standards and funding for the programme.
She said the 300 trained corps members would be attached to different CNG conversion centres after certification.
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the initiative would create job and entrepreneurship opportunities for corps members.
Olawande urged the participants to maximise the training and develop skills that could complement their academic qualifications.
He also encouraged young Nigerians to embrace cheaper and more sustainable energy alternatives.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, described the programme as a demonstration of inter-agency collaboration.
Nafiu said the NYSC was ready to support Nigeria’s energy transition and innovation-driven economy.
He added that the scheme had trained more than three million corps members in various skills since 2012.
