RismadarVoice Reporters, August 12, 2026
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, says the Federal Government’s training of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle retrofitting will create employment opportunities and expand entrepreneurship among young Nigerians.
Mr Olawande spoke at the opening of a CNG Retrofitting Training Programme for corps members at the NYSC FCT Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja.
The minister urged participating corps members to make the most of the training, saying the Ministry of Youth Development would continue to support initiatives aimed at equipping young Nigerians with entrepreneurial skills.
He also encouraged the corps members to acquire practical skills that could complement their academic qualifications and promote the use of cheaper and more sustainable energy sources.
The NYSC Director-General, Olakunle Nafiu, said the programme demonstrated collaboration among government agencies and reflected the government’s efforts to promote a self-reliant economy.
Mr Nafiu said the NYSC was prepared to support Nigeria’s transition to alternative energy sources.
He said the scheme had trained more than three million corps members in various skills since 2012, including financial literacy, agro-allied businesses, proposal writing, information and communication technology and fashion design.
According to him, the scheme’s partnerships with other organisations had also improved corps members’ access to financial support.
“The CNG retrofitting training supports the one trillion dollar innovation-driven economy. This carefully selected programme would bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications,” Mr Nafiu said.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Youth Initiatives, Monitoring and Delivery, Titilope Gbadamosi, said the programme was designed to train young Nigerians in vehicle conversion and support the government’s target of retrofitting 100,000 vehicles annually.
Ms Gbadamosi said the training would be conducted across the six geopolitical zones, with 300 corps members initially trained and certified as technicians to be attached to CNG conversion centres.
She said the programme followed the removal of fuel subsidy, which she said had increased the need for alternative and affordable fuel options for motorists.
She added that the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) had committed technical support, certification standards and funding to the programme.
The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, said the partnership between the NYSC and NADDC would create opportunities for Nigerians as the CNG sector expands.
Mr Ahmed said the number of CNG conversion centres had increased over the past two years, alongside growing interest in vehicles powered by natural gas.
“Our role is to help create the enabling environment for CNG and electric mobility to grow,” he said.
The Director-General of NADDC, Oluwemimo Osanipin, described the training as an effort to translate the Federal Government’s economic agenda into practical opportunities for young Nigerians.
He said the collaboration would help position Nigerian youths at the centre of national development while equipping them with skills in an emerging area of the automotive industry.
