The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has alerted members of the public to desist from patronising uncertified Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) centres in order to safeguard their lives and properties.
Making this appeal on Saturday was the SON’s Director-General, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke.
In a statement signed on behalf of the SON boss by Mrs. Foluso Bolaji, Director Public Relations Directorate, SON, he said the public warning became inevitable following the recent explosion at the NIPCO’s CNG Refueling Station in Benin City, Edo State.
While commiserating with those affected by the incident, the SON said it would not tolerate any attempt to circumvent the laid-out standards, guidelines, and procedures for the CNG conversion initiative.
According to him, the organisation is working tirelessly with the relevant stakeholders to ensure the federal government actualises the CNG conversion initiative.
“We will not allow unscrupulous individuals to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s initiative to promote access to quality energy for the automobile sector,” Okeke stated.
The CNG initiative aims to boost economic development through easy movement of people, goods, and services.
SON has rolled out 88 standards to attract investors and ensure quality service delivery. Preliminary investigations into the explosion revealed that the cylinder used did not comply with approved CNG standards.
The organisation, the SON boss stressed, has robust and effective regulatory measures in place to ensure that all CNG equipment and conversion kits conform to approved standards before being certified for public use.
“SON is collaborating with the Presidential Initiatives on CNG and other relevant government bodies to finalise the Nigerian Gas Vehicle Monitoring System (NGVMS). This platform will provide centralised monitoring and surveillance of CNG systems. NGVMS will ensure that only vehicles equipped with certified conversion kits can access gas at retail outlets. It will also offer a database of approved CNG equipment and suppliers.”
