By Amarachi Odenigbo
ABUJA, Nigeria — Aug. 28, 2026 — President Bola Tinubu has directed the rollout of an additional 500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling stations across Nigeria, expanding the Federal Government’s CNG infrastructure plan to 1,000 stations nationwide.
The directive follows meetings with state governors, where Tinubu said states agreed to take immediate steps to reduce transport fares by adopting cheaper energy options—especially CNG and electric vehicles—after the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Tinubu: cheaper energy must translate to cheaper fares
Speaking after engagements with state governors, President Tinubu said the immediate objective of the expanded CNG push was to ensure Nigerians “begin to benefit directly” from the lower operating costs linked to CNG-powered vehicles.
Tinubu said vehicles running on CNG typically use fuel at substantially lower cost than petrol—claiming CNG-powered vehicles can spend between 60 and 80 per cent less on fuel than petrol vehicles.
He said the Federal Government and governors have agreed to implement measures aimed at cutting transport costs, emphasizing that commuters feel the impact of high transport fares most strongly through intra-state transportation, making state governments central to delivering relief.
500 more stations bring programme to 1,000 nationwide
According to a statement from Tinubu’s office on his X handle on Thursday night, the President ordered the additional rollout of 500 CNG stations, on top of an earlier order of 500 stations.
The directive, the statement said, brings the programme to 1,000 stations nationwide—a scaling up of infrastructure intended to support broader use of CNG for public transportation and commercial vehicle fleets.
Joint committee to drive subsidy-era transport relief
Tinubu said the Federal Government and the governors agreed to establish a joint committee to begin implementing measures targeted at reducing transport costs.
He also set a deadline for benefits to begin flowing to commuters, stating that from October 1, Nigerians should start “partake in those savings” through lower transport fares, stressing that cheaper fuel should produce cheaper fares.
Sub-headlines: Scale-up on conversions, kits, and gas infrastructure
120,000 vehicles already converted; 100,000 more kits expected
As part of the broader transition away from petrol-dependent transport, Tinubu said the government has already recorded over 120,000 vehicles converted to CNG nationwide, with more than 100,000 additional conversion kits in progress.
Officials say the move is designed to accelerate mass adoption by combining vehicle conversion support with expanding refuelling capacity—reducing the cost gap caused by subsidy removal.
Refuelling expansion plus midstream/downstream gas projects
Tinubu further stated that the Federal Government is expanding both vehicle conversion centres and CNG refuelling infrastructure, while also financing gas projects through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
He said more than 100 gas projects are currently being financed across Nigeria, including:
- 15 CNG mother stations
- 86 daughter stations
Tinubu also said he commissioned four projects across Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri in May, including a 15-station refuelling network in Lagos and an Abuja CNG facility capable of serving up to 1,000 cars and tricycles and 50 trucks and buses daily.
Government says it must work as a federation
Tinubu said the initiative will require consistent collaboration between federal and state authorities so that the benefits of cheaper energy reach ordinary Nigerians.
He urged each tier of government to “keep doing its part” and work together for the benefit of every Nigerian, framing implementation follow-through as key to public confidence.
Sub-headlines: Subsidy removal, political pressure, and election-year debate
CNG push follows petrol subsidy removal in 2023
The latest rollout is positioned as a response to the economic effects that followed the removal of petrol subsidy.
Tinubu announced the end of the subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, stating that “fuel subsidy is gone.” The decision triggered a sharp rise in petrol prices, contributing to higher transport costs and wider impacts on the cost of living, including food prices.
Presidential CNG Initiative launched to cushion impacts
In the aftermath, the administration launched the Presidential CNG Initiative as a major pillar to offer cheaper alternatives and soften subsidy reform shockwaves.
Since then, the programme has expanded beyond conversions to include refuelling infrastructure and related gas projects intended to support sustained adoption of CNG for everyday transportation needs.
Subsidy politics intensify ahead of 2027 elections
The economic consequences of subsidy removal have also become a significant political issue ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.
Recently, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the reform generated an estimated ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025—described by the Finance Ministry as estimated subsidy savings shared among federal, state, and local governments and other statutory recipients.
Meanwhile, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has pledged to restore a targeted petrol subsidy if elected in 2027, arguing that subsidy removal worsened hardship.
Atiku has maintained that “I will restore it!”—a position that has placed subsidy reform at the center of the emerging political debate.
President Tinubu’s directive to expand CNG refuelling stations to 1,000 nationwide signals a push to convert subsidy-era economic relief into infrastructure-driven cost savings for transport users.
But the success of the strategy, analysts say, will depend on execution—particularly whether the expanded refuelling network and vehicle conversion capacity will reliably reduce fares, and whether states follow through on promised intra-state reductions in line with the administration’s October 1 target.
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