Oct 1 CNG Rollout: President Tinubu Urges Governors To Crash Transportation Costs
President Bola Tinubu has emphasized the need for state governors to ensure that the financial savings from cheaper Compressed-Natural-Gas (CNG)-powered transportation result in lower fares for the citizens.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the presidency said this in a statement issued on Saturday while providing an update on the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme which was established following a high-level meeting with the 36 state governors on August 27.
President Bola Tinubu emphasized that the core objective agreed upon with the governors is for Nigerians to experience ‘measurable reductions in transportation costs’ starting from next month.
‘I urge every state to maintain the momentum towards October 1.
Work with transport unions and commercial operators. Support conversion and fleet deployment. Facilitate the infrastructure required. Above all, ensure that savings from cheaper energy reach Nigerian citizens through lower fares’ he said.
According to the president, several states are already proving the viability of the initiative, recording significant drops in transport fares through the deployment of CNG-powered and electric buses.
‘In Borno State, public transport services utilizing alternative energy are carrying commuters for between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where conventional commercial operators charge up to ₦600. Similarly, Kaduna State’s deployment of 100 CNG buses provided free transportation on major routes, moving roughly 3.2 million passengers in its first year and saving commuters over ₦3.5 billion.
Interstate and regional travel costs are also seeing drastic reductions.
The CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport in Oyo State successfully crashed the Lagos-Ibadan fare from ₦8,000 to ₦3,200 during their initial rollout. In Adamawa, alternative-energy transit services slashed fares by 50 per cent, from ₦8,000 down to ₦4,000, while a 100-bus CNG fleet in Enugu reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500.
Meanwhile, in Plateau State, government-supported buses are buffering the cost of living by transporting 13,000 commuters daily at a flat rate of ₦200, compared to the commercial rate of over ₦500’ the statement said..
The president also highlighted progress in the Federal Capital Territory, citing partnerships with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to run CNG-converted commercial vehicles across several Abuja routes to ensure passengers receive immediate relief from high transit costs.
With the October 1 target approaching, the federal government is expecting full compliance from remaining states to cushion the impact of macroeconomic reforms on everyday Nigerians.
President Tinubu also said CNG-converted commercial vehicles operating on several Abuja routes through a partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers, saying passengers received a 40 per cent fare reduction.
According to him, fares from Area 1 to Gwagwalada had fallen from N1,500 to N900, Nyanya from N700 to N420, and Wuse from N400 to N240.
He said passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route in Niger paid N550, compared with about N800, while Abia had deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.
‘These are not projections. Nigerians are already experiencing these savings’ he said.
The president added that the Federal Government will support states to expand the programme, noting that disruptions to global energy supplies are putting pressure on petrol and diesel prices and increasing transportation costs.
‘Through our partnership with the NURTW, passengers on CNG-converted commercial vehicles on several Abuja commuter routes receive a 40 per cent fare reduction’ he said.
President Tinubu said Nigeria, as a gas-rich country, could reduce its exposure to global energy price shocks by expanding the use of alternative energy for transportation noting that over 120,000 vehicles have been converted to CNG over the past three years, while the country now had more than 400 certified conversion centres and over 90 CNG refuelling stations.
He also highlighted what has been done in respect of CNG in Edo, Kano, Delta, Kwara, Lagos and Akwa Ibom states.
President Tinubu said Edo had 50 CNG buses in active service, while Kano had converted more than 1,000 commercial vehicles. He added that Delta, Kwara and Lagos are expanding CNG-supported transport services, while Akwa Ibom had taken delivery of 50 CNG buses ahead of commercial operations.
‘At a time like this, our answer cannot be to return to the ruinous petrol subsidy regime that consumed trillions of naira and left our economy exposed to every movement in international oil prices, as some have suggested.
We must accelerate the cheaper alternatives we have been building at home.
Nigeria has the gas. We are building the infrastructure. We are already seeing the savings.
Now we must move faster and scale this so more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day’ he added–Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.. Thank you
