President Bola Tinubu has directed all 36 state governors to accelerate the implementation of the National Affordable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Transit Programme. The directive aims to ensure that Nigerians experience measurable reductions in transportation fares beginning October 1.
In an official statement released on Saturday, September 19, 2026, the President emphasised that the transition to CNG as a primary fuel source for public transport is essential to easing the financial burden on commuters across the federation.
The order follows a high-level meeting held on August 27, where the President discussed the logistics of the CNG rollout with state executives. The federal government expects state governors to coordinate the deployment of CNG-powered vehicles and the establishment of refueling infrastructure within their jurisdictions to meet the October deadline.
CNG Integration and Fuel Price Pressure
The push for CNG adoption is part of a broader strategy to mitigate the economic shocks resulting from the removal of the premium motor spirit (PMS) subsidy. Since the subsidy removal, the cost of transportation has surged, driving up the price of food and essential services across Nigeria.
Compressed Natural Gas offers a significantly cheaper alternative to petrol. By converting commercial buses and taxis to CNG or procuring new CNG-powered fleets, the government intends to lower the operational costs for transport operators, which should theoretically lead to a direct drop in fares for passengers.
The National Affordable CNG Transit Programme involves a partnership between the federal government, state governments, and private sector investors. Key components of the programme include the conversion of existing internal combustion engines to dual-fuel systems and the construction of mother-and-daughter CNG stations to ensure fuel availability in urban and semi-urban areas.
Industry experts note that for the October 1 target to be realistic, states must remove bureaucratic bottlenecks regarding the procurement of conversion kits and provide incentives for transport unions to migrate their fleets to the cleaner, cheaper energy source.
The success of this directive depends on the ability of the 36 governors to synchronise their local transport policies with the federal framework. Failure to establish sufficient refueling points before the deadline could lead to a shortage of CNG fuel, potentially stalling the promised fare reductions.
The federal government is expected to monitor the progress of each state leading up to the October deadline to determine the extent of the fare reductions achieved.
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