President Bola Tinubu has urged all 36 state governments to accelerate the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme and ensure that savings from cheaper energy begin reaching more Nigerians through lower transport fares from October 1, 2026.
Tinubu gave the directive in a statement on Saturday, September 19, 2026, recalling his August 27 meeting with the governors, where they agreed that more Nigerians should begin to see measurable reductions in transportation costs from October 1.
An implementation committee was subsequently established under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, chaired by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to work with the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles (PI-CNG & EV), state governments and other stakeholders on priority transport corridors and interventions.
Tinubu said several states were already showing how cheaper energy could translate into lower fares. In Borno State, CNG-powered and electric public transport services carry commuters for between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where commercial operators charge between ₦300 and ₦600.
In Kaduna State, 100 CNG-powered buses provide free transportation on major routes. Tinubu said the buses carried about 3.2 million passengers in their first year and saved commuters more than ₦3.5 billion in transport costs.
In Oyo State, CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about ₦8,000 to ₦3,200 during the initial deployment. In Adamawa, alternative-energy transit services have cut some fares by as much as 50 per cent, including a reduction from ₦8,000 to ₦4,000.
Tinubu also cited Enugu, where 100 CNG buses reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500, and Plateau State, where government-supported buses carry about 13,000 commuters daily for ₦200, compared with more than ₦500 charged by commercial operators.
In Abuja, passengers using CNG-converted commercial vehicles on several routes receive a 40 per cent fare reduction through a partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers. Tinubu said fares on the Area 1-Gwagwalada route had fallen from ₦1,500 to ₦900, Nyanya from ₦700 to ₦420 and Wuse from ₦400 to ₦240.
He added that passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route in Niger State were paying ₦550 compared with about ₦800, while Abia State had deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.
Tinubu said CNG-powered vehicles could spend 60 to 80 per cent less on fuel than petrol-powered vehicles, making cheaper alternative energy important for reducing transport costs, particularly on intra-state routes.
He also ruled out a return to the petrol subsidy regime, saying Nigeria must instead accelerate the use of cheaper domestic energy sources as global energy disruptions put pressure on petrol and diesel prices.
The President said more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted to CNG over the past three years, while more than 400 certified conversion centres and over 90 CNG refuelling stations were operating nationwide.
He urged states to work with transport unions and commercial operators, support vehicle conversion and fleet deployment, and facilitate the infrastructure needed to pass lower energy costs on to commuters.
“Now we must move faster and scale this so that more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day,” Tinubu said.
