The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) said Wednesday that it will donate compressed natural gas compliant buses worth N10 billion to the federal government to boost mass transportation network in the country.

Chairperson of DAPMAN, Mrs Winifred Akpani, said this while briefing State House correspondents after she led members of the association on a courtesy visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We did pledge that we are going to work at providing real mass transit buses that work. The ones that will work on the compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel interchangeably and hopefully we are going to start with about 50-100 and that is in a very short time,” she said.

She said the scheme would help provide employment to a lot of Nigerians because the buses would be locally produced.

“These are locally produced vehicles so we are also providing jobs because we are using local assembly plants; we are not importing the buses and that is less pressure on our foreign exchange and more jobs for Nigerians,” she said.

She said the President was happy with the development, stressed that Nigerians would soon see that the removal of fuel subsidy as a good move by the President.

Also speaking, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state the association would donate 100 buses worth N100 million each.

“They are all 50 seater buses and each is about N100 million each. So, they are donating 100 buses and that is N10 billion,” he said.

The governor said contrary to insinuations, petroleum marketers have never opposed the deregulation of petrol.

“I believe this singular step demonstrates the fact that they have keyed into this administration’s very laudable policy and they are in support of deregulation,” he said.

The governor called on members of the organized private sector like the Bankers Committee to follow suit and do more to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on Nigerians.