President Bola Tinubu on Saturday, September 19, directed state governments to accelerate the implementation of the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme to deliver measurable reductions in transportation costs to more Nigerians from October 1.
The directive was contained in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, following Tinubu’s August 27 meeting with the 36 state governors.
An implementation committee was established under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, chaired by Kwara state governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to coordinate the programme.
The committee is working with the Presidential Initiative for Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PI-CNG & EV), state governments and other stakeholders to identify priority transport corridors and interventions.
Tinubu said the need to scale up the programme had become more urgent amid the global energy crisis, which has continued to put pressure on petrol and diesel prices and transportation costs.
He cited ongoing interventions in several states, including Borno, Kaduna, Oyo, Adamawa, Enugu, Plateau, Niger and Abia, where CNG and electric-powered transport services have reduced fares for commuters.
In Borno, CNG and electric public transport services charge between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where commercial operators charge between ₦300 and ₦600.
Tinubu said Kaduna has deployed 100 CNG buses providing free transportation on major routes, carrying about 3.2 million passengers in their first year and saving commuters more than ₦3.5 billion.
In Oyo, he said CNG buses reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from ₦8,000 to ₦3,200, while alternative-energy transit in Adamawa reduced fares by up to 50 per cent, from ₦8,000 to ₦4,000.
He added that 100 CNG buses in Enugu reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500, while government-supported buses in Plateau carry about 13,000 passengers daily at ₦200, compared with fares above ₦500 charged by commercial operators.
In Abuja, Tinubu said a partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had resulted in 40 per cent fare reductions on some routes through CNG-converted commercial vehicles.
He said the Area 1-Gwagwalada fare dropped from ₦1,500 to ₦900, while fares on the Nyanya and Wuse routes fell from ₦700 to ₦420 and ₦400 to ₦240 respectively.
The president said the Suleja-Abuja route in Niger now costs ₦550, compared with about ₦800 previously, while Abia has deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.
Tinubu said the savings being recorded were already benefiting Nigerians and were not merely projections.
He added that the federal government had spent the past three years developing the CNG ecosystem, with more than 120,000 vehicles converted, over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 CNG refuelling stations established nationwide.
The president urged state governments to work with transport unions and operators to support vehicle conversion, fleet deployment and infrastructure development, while ensuring that the savings from cheaper energy translate into lower fares for commuters.
He also assured states, transport operators, manufacturers and investors of continued Federal Government support for CNG infrastructure and conversion capacity.
“Nigeria has the gas. We are building the infrastructure. We are already seeing the savings,” Tinubu said, stressing the need to accelerate and scale up the programme.
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