By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed states to accelerate the implementation of the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme, saying more Nigerians should begin to experience measurable reductions in transportation costs from October 1.
Tinubu, in a statement he issued on Saturday, said the directive followed his August 27 meeting with the governors of the 36 states, where they agreed on the objective of reducing transport costs through cheaper energy alternatives.
He said an implementation committee had subsequently been established under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, chaired by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
According to the President, the committee, PI-CNG & EV, state governments and other stakeholders are working to identify priority transport corridors, determine appropriate interventions and put the necessary arrangements in place.
Tinubu said the urgency of the programme had increased amid the current global energy crisis, adding that Nigeria could reduce its exposure to global energy market disruptions by leveraging its abundant gas resources.
The President cited existing initiatives across several states as evidence that cheaper energy could translate into lower transport fares.
He said in Borno, CNG-powered and electric public transport services were conveying commuters for between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where commercial operators charged between ₦300 and ₦600.
In Kaduna, he said, 100 CNG-powered buses provided free transportation on major routes and carried about 3.2 million passengers in their first year, saving commuters more than ₦3.5 billion in transport costs.
Tinubu said CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport in Oyo State had reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about ₦8,000 to ₦3,200 during the initial deployment.
He also cited reductions in Adamawa, where alternative-energy transit services had cut fares by as much as 50 per cent, from ₦8,000 to ₦4,000; Enugu, where the Enugu-Nsukka fare had fallen from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500; and Plateau, where government-supported buses transport about 13,000 commuters daily for ₦200, compared with commercial fares of more than ₦500.
The President said the Federal Government’s partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers had also resulted in fare reductions for passengers using CNG-converted commercial vehicles on several Abuja routes.
He gave examples of fares from Area 1 to Gwagwalada, which fell from ₦1,500 to ₦900; Nyanya, from ₦700 to ₦420; and Wuse, from ₦400 to ₦240.
In Niger State, passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route were paying ₦550 instead of about ₦800, while Abia State had deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent, he said.
“These are not projections. Nigerians are already experiencing these savings,” Tinubu said.
He commended governors and state governments that had moved quickly, but urged all states to do more to expand the programme.
“Disruptions to global energy supplies are once again pressuring petrol and diesel prices and increasing transportation costs worldwide,” he said.
“Nigeria cannot control events in global energy markets. But as a gas-rich nation, we can reduce our exposure.”
Tinubu said his administration had, over the past three years, invested in building a CNG transportation ecosystem across the country.
He said more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted to CNG, with over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 CNG refuelling stations now operating nationwide.
The President rejected calls for a return to the petrol subsidy regime, describing it as unsustainable.
