Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, has announced a plan to establish a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion site in Ilorin, the state capital.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Jimoh Shaykh-Lukman, disclosed this while displaying vehicles converted from fossil fuels to CNG and hybrid models at the business school of the university in Ilorin.
Shaykh-Lukman said the university's engineering department has converted four vehicles from fossil fuel to CNG and is working on another 22 vehicles.
MoU with Chinese companies
He said the university signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese companies, Zhejiang Sinray Electronics Company and Jiaxing Keyuan Electronics Company Limited, to supply CNG conversion kits.
Shaykh-Lukman said partnering with reputable companies to supply CNG conversion kits would ensure quality products that would not pose safety risks.
He noted that the university intends to carry out the conversions on a large scale to make the initiative accessible to more people.
He said KWASU is committed to reducing carbon emissions and promoting a clean and green environment.
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“As part of this commitment, KWASU engineers have already converted four fuel-powered vehicles to electric and one to CNG. When we converted our first two vehicles to electric, we presented them to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who praised and supported our efforts,” Shaykh-Lukman said.
“Following their recommendation, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Technology entrusted us with three vehicles for conversion to electric. So far we have successfully converted two.”
Shaykh-Lukman said the governor also ordered the transfer of 22 Kwara Express vehicles to KWASU for conversion, and the team started working on them.
“We recently completed the conversion of a vehicle to CNG, allowing it to run on both gasoline and gas. We are not new to this process; “We have been working on it for some time and are already seeing promising results,” he said.
Chief Technologist, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, KWASU, Abdulazeez Akande, who spoke on the environmental and economic benefits of the conversion programme, said carbon emissions from vehicles have contributed significantly to the depletion of the ozone layer.
“The rise in oil prices has forced many people to park their vehicles. CNG offers a cost-effective alternative, providing up to 80 percent savings compared to traditional fuel,” Akande said.
He said that while electric vehicles offer even greater environmental benefits, the high cost of conversion currently makes CNG an inaccessible option for many.
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“A kilogram of CNG can travel at least 13 kilometers, which makes it very economical. Since converting four vehicles transporting university staff to Malete, KWASU has saved approximately N840,000 in just seven weeks,” Akande said.
He explained that electric car batteries last between eight and ten years and that the vehicles operate without an engine, which highlights their durability and efficiency.