Nigeria Targets Lower Transport Fares From October 1 as States Embrace CNG, EVs

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  August 28, 2026

Nigeria is targeting lower intra-state transport fares from October 1 as state governors move to cut transportation costs by expanding the use of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles, President Bola Tinubu said.

Tinubu said the governors had agreed to take immediate measures to reduce transport costs in their states following discussions with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. A joint federal and state committee will oversee implementation of the measures.

The federal government is also expanding CNG infrastructure as part of its energy transition programme. More than 120,000 vehicles have been converted to CNG nationwide under the Presidential CNG Initiative, while more than 100,000 additional conversion kits are being prepared, according to Tinubu.

The government is financing more than 100 gas projects through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, including 15 CNG mother stations and 86 daughter stations.

Tinubu said he had commissioned four projects in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri in May. They include a 15-station CNG refuelling network in Lagos and an Abuja facility capable of serving 1,000 cars and tricycles and 50 trucks and buses a day.

The government has also ordered an additional 500 CNG refuelling stations, on top of 500 stations ordered earlier this year, taking the planned nationwide network to 1,000 stations.

The expansion is intended to translate lower fuel costs into cheaper public transport. Tinubu said vehicles running on CNG typically spend 60 percent to 80 percent less on fuel than petrol-powered vehicles.

"Intra-state transport is where Nigerians feel the cost most directly, and it is where the states hold the levers," Tinubu said in a social media post. "From October 1, our goal is that Nigerians begin to partake in those savings through lower transport fares."

The announcement puts state governments at the centre of efforts to pass the benefits of cheaper CNG fuel on to passengers, while the federal government focuses on conversion programmes and the expansion of refuelling infrastructure.

Tinubu said the federal and state governments would need to coordinate to ensure that lower operating costs result in lower fares, saying: "We have agreed that cheaper fuel should result in cheaper fares."

Source: FSX Business News