'Why CNG will outlive petrol in Nigeria’
As Nigeria continues to calibrate its transport architecture towards cleaner and cost-efficient energy alternatives, Adebola Omotosho is positioning himself at the intersection of policy, innovation and human capital development. As
As Nigeria continues to calibrate its transport architecture towards cleaner and cost-efficient energy alternatives, Adebola Omotosho is positioning himself at the intersection of policy, innovation and human capital development. As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tree of Life Autoworld Ltd, the Ekiti-born automotive entrepreneur is not merely participating in Nigeria's emerging compressed natural gas (CNG) ecosystem; he is actively shaping its talent pipeline. A certified automotive professional with credentials spanning the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Quality Assurance Assessor (QAA) certification in Automobile CNG Conversion and Maintenance, and Euro Autogas CNG certification, Omotosho brings both technical depth and industry-standard competence to the sector. In this interview with Adeniyi Adewoyin, he speaks on Nigeria's gradual shift to CNG-powered transportation, the safety misconceptions surrounding the technology, and why skills—not just certificates—will define the country's automotive future. Excerpts:
Your organisation is currently training individuals on CNG technology. When did the programme commence, and how has participation been so far?
It's actually in cohort. We have cohort one, cohort two and we started January. We're supposed to commence last year, but due to the festive period, people were allowed to go and celebrate. The turnout has been wonderful, and the readiness of the people, which goes a very long way. Because one of the things that the government has done which is not common before now, is to give stipend to every learner that comes in order to ease their transportation expenses and feeding allowance, which is very commendable. We make use of a practical method of training by trying to dramatise activities so they get to understand how it works easily and we create some kind of debate which also helps them learn faster.
What type of certification will participants receive upon completion of the training, and how relevant is it within and beyond Nigeria?
The certificate they will be getting at the end of this training is a Nigerian Skills Qualification (NSQ) certificate. It's a global certificate, a national qualification skill framework, which anywhere they find themselves in the world; they can make use of it. Sincerely speaking, I give to the federal government for this initiative. Most of the so-called roadside mechanics are also part of the people we are trying to bring into an educational system so that they can have a good background. Government wants to test their ability. You have 30 years of experience, 25 years of experience; we put you through what we call assessment. We carry out an assessment on you because I'm a quality assurance assessor, who assesses your quality level.
How many trainees are currently enrolled in this cohort, and what is your long-term capacity for training across multiple cohorts annually?
So we're giving 100 trainees the train. So this will now happen about three times a year and that 100 is as a result of our capacity. Our actual capacity is 300 but because we want to expand, we decided to have a mobile classroom, and also other classrooms that can actually take 100 to 150 conveniently, so by mid this year we should be able to have completed our main classroom, which can take 300 learners at a time. Another classroom will take about 100 learners. So in one cohort, if we are giving 400 to 300, we have the capacity.
You have consistently demonstrated a passion for youth empowerment through technical training even before the Federal Government intervention. What inspired this commitment to skills development within the automotive sector?
Thank you very much for that question, at a time when Nigeria is recalibrating its transition towards cleaner, more sustainable transportation system, I have always have a vision of how do we make Nigerian transportation system more creative and more acceptable because I grew up in the area whereby we have 'Molue' bus as the only means of transportation in Lagos and that alone was a bitter experience I had one day which I was coming from somewhere I had some money in my pocket, and I was trying to struggle to board the bus, and someone used a blade to cut my jeans and took my money. By the time I alighted from the bus, I realized that he actually caught a better part of my leg, and blood was gushing out. All that were the things that actually settled, in my mind, that in the future, do something that will help the automotive industry.
I came into this sector because I wanted to make an impact. Also I realised that there is a point in our universities, we realise that we adore university graduates ahead of apprentices, you know, we see them as low class level but I discovered that that's more or less like slavery mentality that was sold to us, which has been eradicated. If a nation must grow, the people must be skillful, because out of skill is where we have creativity and creativity is what we bring. Look at China today, all those nations are actually doing well, it is as a result of skill, which they never denied their people off. Also they never denied their people of their culture; we need to revive so it can really help us as a people.
Are you saying that Nigerians are yet to have a major identity on the global stage?
Nigeria has not really defined their identity, which we are known for. We see brilliant people in Nigeria, we see dubious people in Nigeria, we see all manners of people, but we have not really succeeded. Some see us as intelligent people; some see us as corrupt people. And I think it's important that we, the Nigerians, have to start defining who we truly are, who we are as a people. That's one of the reasons that has given birth to is that we not only obscure people, we also let them know their true identity. We have done a couple of training sessions, even without charging them any amounts. We are partnered with a couple of NGOs to train people for free, just to make sure that people actually are capable of doing something reasonable to help themselves. So growing up, my father happens to be a skilled person, an electrical contractor; he gave us the best of education. I'm a graduate of University of Lagos. He gave us the best of education alongside skill. He never denied us the privilege of skill. So he gave us skills in construction, electrical contracting. He gave us skills in this sector that I'm in. So each time you have to repair his car, which means I have to follow him to the mechanic workshop to look and write an essay on every repair that the technician did, it gave us the reason to learn all these things. That, which he taught us, then is what is actually paving ways today. And that's one of the reasons I said he has transferred that spirit, to me, to help the youth of God become a better
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The world is presently going through a hike in fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East and Nigerians are yet to fully adopt the CNG means of powering their vehicles, what would you say is the future of CNG powered vehicles in Nigeria?
Nigerians as a nation, we are concerned about the cost of the oil itself, we are not concerned about the negative implication of it in our country, and I will try to touch the face of climate change. We are not considering that part of it. We are more concerned about what fuel will do to us positively than what the damage will do to us over time. So we are not just advocating for affordable means of fueling our vehicles. We're also advocating for renewable energy to have a better environment for ourselves, because if you run away from spending money on things that will affect you positively, you try to cut costs in place of fuel, definitely you're going to spend more when it comes to health issues. So it's better we focus on things that will add value to us as a people and as a nation, which has to do with climate change. So at the introduction, or the adoption of CNG, to be honest, we started in 2009.
How affordable is CNG for the common man?
Let me now take us to the case of affordability. You know, before now while growing up, we all depended on kerosene when it came to domestic cooking at home, when gas came, our parents were hesitant. No, I cannot use gas. Can't use gas in my house. It's risky. But today, it's cheaper to buy the gas than to buy kerosene. In fact, the number of houses that are burned by using kerosene is more than the number of houses by using LPG as a means of domestic use.
Fast forward to the question you asked earlier on, I will say to us that CNG is to come and cushion the pressure of fuel in our system. Assuming that the infrastructure of CNG has been in existence long before now, I don't think people will have a major effect on what is going on between America and Iran today. But because the infrastructure of CNG is still minimal to an extent, I give kudos to the Lagos State government who is doing so much by coming up with a series of infrastructure to support that initiative. So assuming the structure has been there for a very long time, I think we won't be complaining about the rise in fuel prices. Welcoming CNG into our transportation system has really helped, because the same customers that we have converted for in the past that have been able to save up to about 70% of their actual expenses on a weekly basis.
Many are of the opinion that vehicles already running on fuel may face explosion problems when converted to CNG…
Thank you very much for that. Yesterday, I was on social media when it was announced that the federal government ordered the deployment of 100,000 CNG vehicles. And the vision is to combat about one million vehicles to run on CNG. And these one million vehicles are not private owned vehicles, they are for commercial use. So the target of federal government is converted about one million vehicles, which we started in 2024 December, to be precise. As for safety, the only explosion we ever heard of when it comes to CNG, real explosion happened in Benin, and this happened in 2024 in Benin. And what happened is the cylinder was fabricated locally, so there is no amount of fabrication that can withstand the pressure of CNG. For instance, as big as this room is full of water, and you want to send a water of, let's say, 2000 liters of water into 75 CL. So that's across about 200 bars. It's a pressure. So if you had gone too well to carry out some kind of fabrication you're waiting for a balloon that you just blow. That was what happened in Benin. Another incident that we must have seen, probably as a result of inexperience in installation and also major accident was an accident that happened on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway last year about three to four vehicles. Garmin CNG cylinder was involved in that accident and I'll put it to you after the incident, that the cylinder was the only thing that did not get burnt in the vehicle and the cylinder was open after the incident, the CNG content was still intact with that cylinder. It wasn't due to the CNG. It shows that there is no amount of fire outbreaks around the CNG once it is not exposed. Nothing happens to it because the thickness. It's a bulletproof cylinder, which there's no amount of bullets that can actually penetrate it. So there is no matter, we've done its test, they've done collision test to it. So all manners of tests that there's no amount of accidents you involve or engage in that can actually damage the cylinder.
Most people are also worried about safety…
When it comes to safety, CNG itself is lighter than the air. And if there is any form of leakage of CNG, the air takes over. So the direction of the air is where it moves to. Whatever that is lighter than the air simply means there's not going to be any form of fire outbreak or whatsoever. You won't see it around. That's one of the biggest advantages of CNG. And CNG don't damage vehicles, it only expose bad vehicles. If you have been running your vehicle with a bad plug, spark plugs, or you may run your vehicle with a bad coin ignition coil, definitely, if it's not strong enough because of the power it requires. If it's not strong enough CNG will expose it. CNG is already in the gaseous form, while we have petrol in the liquid form that we need to transfer from liquid form to gaseous form before it can ignite and generate powerful vehicles to move. But now that is coming in in a gaseous form, it requires an immediate power, a good condition coil and a good condition spark plug.
What sparked your interest into the CNG world?
My background is history and strategic studies but you can't define my background by that. It runs back to the story I told you earlier on about the impact of my father in my life. That has actually shaped my ideology. Due to what my father taught me while growing up, I have been able to successfully supervise from foundation to finish more than ten buildings which I didn't study in school. i did couple of other courses in project management, I did strategic management and I built myself around my first degree it as time goes by I started watching pimp my ride which later started giving me so much interest and what my father usually do for me is ask me to write as essay about what while watching mechanics doing their job. What we call upgrade these days was what we called Pimp my Ride those days. We try to fabricate your bumper and running board to add aesthetics to your vehicle that was where we started from before I decided to go into more knowledge in mechanical and electrical. And then I realised that I can do more so that was what gave birth to CNG. I went for CNG training, I got certified and it all began. Our vision is to be able to manufacture CNG vehicles. If I take you to our warehouse you'd see all those equipment that can stand the chances. We can conveniently build a vehicle from start to finish here. But it's still a work in progress.
What is the future of CNG in Nigeria and can it phase out petrol?
Most definitely! Petrol is going to be a thing of the past in Nigeria just like we drove into using gas for domestic cooking not realising that Kerosene is no longer in vogue, that's how it is going to happen. There are some vehicle assemblers in Nigeria today who now produce their vehicles to run directly on CNG. It's because Nigerians have not had a taste of it fully, the moment they do, see how much it saves cost, they also see value that's being added when it comes to climate change they will start going for it. Petrol is going to make us a better nation in exporting it than consuming it.
