The Federal Government is renewing its drive to deploy one million compressed natural gas-powered vehicles across Nigeria to reduce transportation costs. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikke Ekpo, gave the directive in Abuja while receiving progress reports from the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles and the Decade of Gas Secretariat. Ekpo said the government must translate its autogas policy into tangible benefits for Nigerians, particularly lower transport fares following the removal of petrol subsidy.
The minister tasked both bodies with identifying critical interventions, expanding infrastructure and strengthening programmes to increase nationwide adoption of compressed natural gas. CNG, which is generally cheaper than petrol on an energy-equivalent basis, has been promoted by the Federal Government as an alternative that could reduce transport operators' fuel expenses. The benefits, however, depend on the availability of refuelling stations, affordable vehicle conversion, reliable gas supply and operators passing savings on to passengers.
Ekpo noted that Nigeria's gas reserves index stands at over 80 years, offering an opportunity to lower transportation costs, increase domestic gas consumption and stimulate economic growth. He stressed the need to follow President Bola Tinubu's directive to make transportation more affordable through CNG. Domestic gas consumption had risen above two billion cubic feet per day for the first time in Nigeria's history, he said.
The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, said the initiative would intensify investments and programmes to expand refuelling infrastructure and increase vehicle conversions. A joint industry market study completed by the Decade of Gas Secretariat has provided a framework for accelerating the rollout, monitoring progress and identifying infrastructure gaps. The Coordinator of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed Ubong, described CNG as an important component of Nigeria's energy transition.