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By Moses Akaigwe
One of Nigeria’s most experienced motor companies, Lanre Shittu Motors Ltd (LSM), has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s automotive sector and mass transportation agenda in the country, especially his Presidential CNG Initiative.
•A line-up of LSM CNG buses
The Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer of LSM, Taiwo Shittu, made the laudation while commenting on the President’s Compressed Natural Gas Initiative through which thousands of vehicles that run on autogas will be injected into the mass transit system.
Speaking from the Havard Business School recently, Shittu expressed delight over a number of measures by the current government towards rejuvenating the various auto assembly plants in the country with specific attention to assembly of CNG buses to boost public transportation and lessen the challenges faced by commuters.
He stated that following the presidential directive of mandatory procurement of CNG-powered vehicles by all Federal Government ministries, departments, and agencies, the present administrartion has shown its determination to encourage the local auto assembly plants.
Shittu said during the telephone interview that by June, 2024, Lanre Shittu Motors will be deploying a large number of units of the LSM-branded CNG buses at the airports across the country and for other mass transportation needs.
He disclosed that LSM mulled the idea of CNG vehicles and saw it as the future of the local automotive industry many years ago because of the abundance of natural gas in the economy as well as the economic benefits of using CNG buses by both the operators and the commuters.
The LSM MD assured that there are plans to start the assembly of the LSM-branded CNG buses in Lagos using the best technology like in other parts or the world.
Apart from assembling CNG vehicles from start to finish inside the LSM plant, the company boasts of enough kits capable of converting petrol-powered vehicles to CNG.
He allayed the fears of prospective customers of lack of quality after-sales maintenance of any stock order rolled out from the assembly plant.
For over 40 years, LSM through the visionary founder and Chairman, Late Alhaji Lanre Shittu has carved an enviable niche within the automotive industry through its quality products and services. According to MD, introducing the LSM branded buses is one of the many ways of immortalising the founder.
He remarked, “We have taken proactive steps in the past years to offer quality training to our technicians at various stages, levels and categories of auto assembly and after sales maintenance services”.
Upon graduation and certification, the technicians are also deployed not only to the various LSM offices nationwide, they are also being sort after by other industry stakeholders within the nation’s automotive value chain.
In a related development, the management of Lanre Shittu Motors has announced that all branches of the company are currently fully equipped with state-of-the-art CNG conversion equipment while orders have been activated and running seamlessly.
Meanwhile, the first set of CNG vehicles were expected to be inaugurated as part of the activities marking the first anniversary the Tinubu administration.
The Federal Government allocated N100 billion from the N500 billion palliative budget to purchase 5,500 CNG vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 electric buses, and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits.
This funding also supports the expansion of CNG refilling and electric charging stations.
