President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday that he held a productive meeting with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, during which state leaders resolved on their own initiative to take immediate steps to reduce transportation costs, with particular emphasis on the savings offered by CNG and electric vehicles.
In a statement he personally issued after the meeting, Tinubu said the Federal Government continues to invest heavily in the energy transition.
Under the Presidential CNG Initiative, more than 120,000 vehicles have already been converted nationwide, with over 100,000 additional conversion kits currently being distributed, alongside an expanding network of conversion centres and refuelling stations.
He noted that the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund is financing more than 100 gas projects across the country, including 15 CNG mother stations and 86 daughter stations.
In May, he commissioned four such projects in Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri, among them a 15-station refuelling network in Lagos and an Abuja facility capable of serving 1,000 cars and tricycles and 50 trucks and buses daily.
Tinubu said he has now directed the rollout of an additional 500 CNG refuelling stations nationwide, on top of 500 previously ordered earlier this year, bringing the total programme to 1,000 stations across the country.
He pointed out that intra-state transport is where Nigerians feel fuel costs most directly, and where states hold the greatest influence, adding that he was encouraged by the Governors’ push to extend these benefits to residents.
According to the statement, the Federal and State governments have agreed to establish a joint committee to begin implementing the fare-reduction measures immediately.
Tinubu noted that a vehicle running on CNG spends 60 to 80 per cent less on fuel than one running on petrol, and said the goal is for Nigerians to begin seeing that translate into lower transport fares starting October 1.
“We have agreed that cheaper fuel should result in cheaper fares,” the President said, calling on every tier of government to continue playing its part for the benefit of all Nigerians.
