The Federal Government and state governments are moving to reduce the cost of public transportation by expanding the use of Compressed Natural Gas-powered vehicles, with President Bola Tinubu setting October 1, 2026, as the target for Nigerians to begin benefiting from lower fares.
Tinubu disclosed the plan after meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress at the State House in Abuja. He said the governors had agreed to take immediate steps to bring down intra-state transportation costs by taking advantage of the lower operating costs of CNG and electric vehicles.
According to the President, a joint Federal Government and state government committee will be established to begin implementing the measures. The committee is expected to work on ensuring that savings from cheaper alternative fuel are reflected in what commuters pay for transportation.
Tinubu said CNG-powered vehicles can spend between 60 and 80 per cent less on fuel than vehicles running on petrol, arguing that the reduction in operating costs should translate into cheaper fares for passengers.
“From October 1, our goal is that Nigerians begin to partake in those savings through lower transport fares,” the President said.
The move places particular emphasis on intra-state transportation, which accounts for a large share of the daily journeys made by Nigerians. Tinubu said states have significant influence over this segment of the transport system and are therefore well positioned to drive down fares.
The initiative comes amid continued pressure on households from high transportation costs following the removal of the petrol subsidy. Rising fares have also contributed to higher living costs because transportation expenses are built into the price of food and other goods moved across the country.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum had earlier backed the proposed National Affordable CNG Transit Programme, under which participating states would support vehicle conversion, provide or facilitate CNG-powered transport fleets and develop supporting infrastructure. Transport operators participating in the programme would be expected to pass the savings on to passengers through lower fares.
However, the governors had indicated that the financing and implementation framework would still require further consideration. Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri said the initiative was being examined as a way of cushioning the economic impact of high transportation costs rather than returning to the former petrol-subsidy arrangement.
The Federal Government is simultaneously expanding the infrastructure required to support the transition. Tinubu said more than 120,000 vehicles had already been converted to CNG nationwide under the Presidential CNG Initiative, while more than 100,000 additional conversion kits were being processed.
The government is also expanding CNG conversion centres and refuelling facilities. Tinubu said more than 100 gas infrastructure projects were currently being financed through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, including 15 CNG mother stations and 86 daughter stations.
The President further directed the rollout of another 500 CNG refuelling stations nationwide. Combined with 500 stations previously ordered under the programme, the planned network will reach 1,000 stations.
The expansion is intended to address one of the major challenges facing wider CNG adoption: access to reliable refuelling infrastructure. Without sufficient stations, commercial drivers may find it difficult to operate CNG-powered vehicles consistently, particularly on busy inter-state and intra-state routes.
The government has already begun deploying CNG buses and other alternative-energy vehicles in different parts of the country. In Kano State, for example, 40 CNG buses, seven electric buses and more than 200 CNG-powered tricycles have been deployed as part of the Northern Corridor clean-transport programme.
The Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles says hundreds of CNG buses and thousands of CNG-powered tricycles have now been deployed across Nigeria, alongside the expansion of conversion centres and refuelling stations.
For commuters, the key question will be whether the lower operating costs actually result in cheaper fares. The Federal Government's target therefore depends not only on supplying CNG vehicles and infrastructure but also on effective cooperation with state governments and transport operators.
There will also be a need for proper monitoring to ensure that savings generated from cheaper fuel are not absorbed entirely by operators without corresponding reductions in passenger fares.
Lower transportation costs could have effects beyond commuters. Reducing the cost of moving agricultural produce, manufactured goods and other commodities could help ease some of the pressure on prices, particularly where transport represents a significant portion of the final cost of goods.
At the same time, the success of the programme will depend on several practical factors, including the availability of CNG, the cost of vehicle conversion, the reliability of refuelling stations, the number of buses deployed and the willingness of transport operators to participate.
The Federal Government has also been pursuing measures to make conversion more accessible, including financing arrangements designed to reduce the upfront cost for vehicle owners.
For ordinary Nigerians, the October 1 target will therefore be judged primarily by what happens to transport fares on the roads. If the programme is implemented effectively, commuters could begin to see some relief from the high cost of daily transportation.
The Federal Government and states now face the task of turning the agreement into a functioning transport system in which cheaper fuel costs are reflected at the point where Nigerians pay their fares.
For the moment, October 1 remains a government target, rather than a guarantee that fares will fall uniformly across every route and state on that date. The extent of the reduction will depend on how individual states implement the programme and how quickly the necessary CNG infrastructure and vehicles become available.
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