The Federal Government and state governors have agreed to take immediate steps to reduce transportation costs across the country by leveraging the lower operating costs of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
The development followed a meeting between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, where the governors, on their own initiative, resolved to introduce measures aimed at bringing down intra-state transportation fares.
The Federal Government said the initiative would begin to take effect from October 1, with the goal of ensuring that Nigerians benefit directly from savings arising from cheaper alternative fuels.
The government said more than 120,000 vehicles have so far been converted to CNG nationwide under the Presidential CNG Initiative, while over 100,000 additional conversion kits are currently in the pipeline.
It added that conversion centres and CNG refuelling infrastructure are also being expanded across the country to support the transition.
Through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), the Federal Government said it is financing more than 100 gas projects nationwide, comprising 15 CNG mother stations and 86 daughter stations.
It noted that four of the projects were commissioned in May across Lagos, Abuja and Owerri, including a 15-station refuelling network in Lagos and an Abuja facility with the capacity to serve 1,000 cars and tricycles as well as 50 trucks and buses daily.
The Federal Government has also directed the rollout of an additional 500 CNG refuelling stations nationwide, on top of the 500 stations earlier ordered by the Fund, bringing the planned total to 1,000 stations across the country.
According to the government, vehicles running on CNG can spend between 60 and 80 per cent less on fuel compared with petrol-powered vehicles.
It stressed that intra-state transportation remains the area where Nigerians feel the impact of high transport costs most directly, noting that state governments have a critical role to play in translating the benefits of cheaper fuel into lower fares.
To drive implementation, the Federal Government and the states have agreed to establish a joint committee that will immediately commence work on measures to reduce transportation costs.
The government said the initiative was part of efforts by all tiers of government to work together to ease the economic burden on Nigerians.
“We have agreed that cheaper fuel should result in cheaper fares,” the government stated, adding that the ultimate objective was for Nigerians to begin benefiting from lower transportation costs from October 1.
