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The Federal Government has moved to introduce Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) retrofitting skills into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme as part of efforts to expand youth empowerment and support Nigeria’s transition to clean energy.
The initiative is anchored on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which prioritises job creation, innovation and affordable energy solutions.
To drive the process, the Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives (Monitoring & Delivery), Dr Titilope Gbadamosi, inaugurated a multi-stakeholder technical committee to oversee the integration.
The committee, chaired by Gbadamosi, comprises representatives from the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), NYSC, the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
Speaking after the inauguration, Gbadamosi described the project as a strategic intervention aimed at equipping young Nigerians with practical, industry-relevant skills.
“This initiative goes beyond skills acquisition. It is a deliberate national strategy to prepare young Nigerians for the future of work, unlock new economic opportunities, and position them as active participants in Nigeria’s energy transition,” she said.
She noted that the committee had been mandated to develop a comprehensive framework for implementation, including curriculum design, training standards, certification processes and partnerships with critical stakeholders in the automotive and energy sectors.
Also speaking, the committee secretary, Mrs Joke Onireti, said leveraging the NYSC SAED platform would enable nationwide reach and impact.
“The NYSC structure provides a unique nationwide platform to reach thousands of graduates annually. By integrating CNG retrofitting skills into the SAED programme, we are creating pathways for self-reliance, employability and enterprise development,” she said.
The Federal Government stated that the initiative is expected to stimulate job creation across the automotive and energy value chains, reduce youth unemployment and strengthen local capacity for clean energy adoption.
The technical committee is expected to commence work immediately, with timelines for pilot implementation and nationwide rollout to be announced in due course.
