President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have agreed to intensify efforts to reduce transportation costs across the country through the wider use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
Tinubu disclosed this on Thursday after meeting with the governors, saying the state governments had agreed to introduce immediate measures aimed at reducing the cost of transportation within their respective states.
The President said the initiative would focus on making cheaper fuel alternatives more accessible to transport operators and, ultimately, lowering fares paid by Nigerians.
According to him, the Federal Government has so far converted more than 120,000 vehicles to CNG under the Presidential CNG Initiative, while preparations are underway to deploy more than 100,000 additional conversion kits.
He added that the government would continue to expand CNG conversion centres and refuelling facilities across the country to make the alternative fuel more readily available.
Tinubu also highlighted investments through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, which is supporting more than 100 gas-related projects nationwide.
The projects include 15 CNG mother stations and 86 daughter stations. The President noted that four of the projects in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri were commissioned in May.
Among the facilities is a 15-station CNG refuelling network in Lagos, as well as an Abuja facility designed to serve up to 1,000 cars and tricycles and 50 trucks and buses daily.
The President further directed the establishment of an additional 500 CNG refuelling stations, increasing the previously announced target of 500 stations to 1,000 nationwide.
Tinubu said the decision was particularly important because state governments have significant control over intra-state transportation, where rising fares have a direct impact on households.
He expressed confidence that the governors’ involvement would help ensure that the benefits of cheaper fuel reach commuters across the states.
A joint Federal and State implementation committee will also be established immediately to coordinate the rollout of the measures.
Tinubu said vehicles powered by CNG could record fuel savings of between 60 and 80 per cent compared with petrol-powered vehicles.
He added that the government’s target was for Nigerians to begin benefiting from those savings through reduced transport fares from October 1.
The President stressed that lower fuel costs should ultimately translate into cheaper transportation for Nigerians.
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