Isaac Samuel
President Bola Tinubu has directed state governments to accelerate the implementation of the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme to ensure that more Nigerians begin to experience lower transportation fares from October 1.
Tinubu, in a statement issued by the State House on Saturday, said the initiative was agreed upon at his August 27 meeting with the governors of the 36 states.
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 and EV, state governments and other stakeholders are working to identify priority transport corridors and determine appropriate interventions ahead of the October 1 target.
Tinubu said the programme had become more urgent amid disruptions to global energy supplies, which had renewed pressure on petrol and diesel prices and increased transportation costs.
He cited existing CNG-powered transport initiatives across the country as evidence that cheaper energy could translate into lower fares.
The President said in Borno, CNG-powered and electric public transport services were moving commuters for between N50 and N100 on routes where commercial operators charged between N300 and N600.
He added that 100 CNG-powered buses in Kaduna provided free transportation on major routes, carrying about 3.2 million passengers in their first year and saving commuters more than N3.5 billion in transport costs.
In Oyo, Tinubu said CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about N8,000 to N3,200 during the initial deployment.
He said alternative-energy transit services in Adamawa had reduced fares by as much as 50 per cent, from N8,000 to N4,000, while 100 CNG buses deployed in Enugu reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from N2,500 to N1,500.
Similarly, government-supported buses in Plateau, according to him, carry about 13,000 commuters daily at N200, compared with more than N500 charged by commercial operators.
Tinubu said the Federal Government’s partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers had also resulted in fare reductions on several Abuja routes served by CNG-converted commercial vehicles.
He listed Area 1-Gwagwalada, where fares had fallen from N1,500 to N900; Nyanya, from N700 to N420; and Wuse, from N400 to N240.
The President also said passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route in Niger State were paying N550, compared with about N800 previously, while Abia had deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.
He said the savings being recorded were not projections but benefits already being experienced by commuters.
Tinubu said his administration had, over the last three years, invested in developing a CNG transportation ecosystem, with more than 120,000 vehicles converted, over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 CNG refuelling stations established across the country.
He said the government would not return to the petrol subsidy regime, which he described as costly and exposing the economy to fluctuations in international oil prices.
“Instead, we must accelerate the cheaper alternatives we have been building at home,” he said.
The President said Edo currently had 50 CNG buses in active service, while Kano had converted more than 1,000 commercial vehicles and was expanding its conversion and refuelling network.
He added that Delta, Kwara and Lagos were expanding CNG-supported transport services, while Akwa Ibom had taken delivery of 50 CNG buses ahead of commercial operations.
Tinubu urged all states to sustain the momentum towards October 1 by working with transport unions and commercial operators, supporting vehicle conversions and fleet deployment, and facilitating the infrastructure needed to expand CNG transport.
He stressed that the key objective was to ensure that savings from cheaper energy were reflected in lower fares paid by commuters.
“The Federal Government will continue to support the scaling of CNG infrastructure and access, expand conversion capacity, and create the enabling environment for states, transport operators, manufacturers and private investors to participate,” he said.
“Now we must move faster and scale this so more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day.”
