Stakeholders Demand More CNG Stations, Cheaper Financing As Pi-CNG Reports 500 Conversion Centres
By Sunday Etuka
Transport unions, petroleum marketers and other industry players have told the Federal Government that thin refuelling infrastructure, weak financing and a supply shortfall are the biggest obstacles to wider adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Nigeria, even as the Presidential Initiative on CNG (Pi-CNG) says it has set up more than 500 conversion centres nationwide.
The concerns were raised on Wednesday in Abuja at the National CNG Adoption Conference held at the Roses Regency Hotel, Wuye.
The meeting which was organised by Pi-CNG, the National Compressed Natural Gas Forum (NCNG-F) and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), was intended to discuss investment opportunities, infrastructure development, safety, regulatory challenges, and strategies for accelerating CNG adoption in Nigeria.
It was themed “Strengthening the National CNG Adoption and Mobilization Agenda” and drew government agencies, organised labour, transport unions, petroleum and energy associations, financiers and private operators.
Speaking at the opening, the National Chairman of NCNG-F, Faruk Abdullahi, said the success of the programme could not rest on the government alone.
He said conversion centres, gas suppliers and infrastructure providers also could not deliver on their own, and called for joint effort from labour, unions, professional bodies, investors and ordinary Nigerians who rely on affordable energy.
Abdullahi said the country must shift from awareness to real uptake, and from policy statements to implementation.
He added that having gas reserves does not guarantee adoption, because motorists will convert only when the fuel is accessible, affordable, safe and reliable.
He urged transport unions to educate members, identify vehicles fit for conversion, arrange group conversions and press financial institutions for affordable loans.
He also asked every participating organisation to name a focal person on CNG, run internal awareness programmes and set pilot targets, with progress tracked through a common coordination mechanism.
Abdullahi said the true measure of the initiative would be the number of vehicles safely converted, the operators who gain real savings, the infrastructure built and the investments attracted, rather than the number of meetings held.
He announced plans for a National CNG Road Show and a Maiden National CNG Summit billed for later in the period, which he said would deepen talks on investment, infrastructure and policy coordination.
Giving an update on progress, the Conversion Manager of Pi-CNG and EV, Adaugo Uzogara, said that since May 2023 the initiative had established over 500 conversion centres and more than 90 refuelling stations across 25 states.
She said the effort had created many direct and indirect jobs and expressed hope that continued collaboration would carry CNG to all 36 states, offering cleaner, cheaper and safer energy.
Representing the interests of petroleum product retailers, the President of PETROAN, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, also contributed to the discussions on the future of CNG and its place in Nigeria’s evolving energy market.
PETROAN’s participation highlights the importance of engaging existing petroleum retail operators in efforts to expand alternative fuel infrastructure, explore investment opportunities and ensure that the transition creates viable opportunities across the downstream petroleum sector.
During the open session, however, representatives of the participating groups painted a picture of serious gaps on the ground.
The group said the biggest challenge was a supply gap, citing figures from the upstream regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and noting that CNG stations are often crowded with vehicles.
They also noted that building a single CNG station could cost over N3 billion, and urged the government to provide incentives so that Nigerian investors would not take their capital to neighbouring countries.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) said fuelling points were too few, noting that only a handful operate around Lagos and that queues can reach 50 vehicles.
They said existing diesel engines in tanker trucks generally cannot be converted and that buying a CNG truck or engine could cost about N100 million, a sum most members cannot afford.
The transport body said the 90 refuelling stations and 500 conversion centres were far too few for the number of trucks on the road and called for new stations along coastal routes.
They also raised the need for technology transfer and local capacity to maintain converted vehicles, and asked what financing had been mobilised and at what interest rate.
They noted that many trucks imported with conversion kits had since gone out of service because of poor maintenance.
They spoke bluntly about the reality for long distance operators, saying that a trip from Lagos to Abuja offers only a few refuelling points, that drivers in Abuja can wait among 250 or more vehicles in a queue, and that some stations stand idle.
They also asked why transporters have no dedicated bank, unlike agriculture and industry, and said they are forced to borrow from commercial lenders at high cost.
The stakeholders praised the removal of the fuel subsidy as a bold step that opened the door to alternatives such as CNG, solar and electric power, however, they noted that infrastructure, financing and capacity building remain weak, and called on the conference to issue a strong statement on how to overcome them.
They said the sector must plan around guaranteed buyers for gas, since suppliers who sign agreements must be ready to take delivery or face heavy penalties.
According to them, storage facilities for gas are capital intensive, and that Pi-CNG had done well to start by building demand through conversion centres.
The stakeholders agreed that safety, infrastructure, financing, local capacity and reliable supply must be tackled together if CNG is to become a practical option for millions of Nigerian motorists and businesses.
