Commuters in at least 14 Nigerian states continued to pay the same or higher transport fares on October 1, 2024, the date President Bola Tinubu had set for measurable reductions in transport costs through the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses.
Checks conducted across Enugu, Anambra, Delta, Imo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Gombe, Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states showed fares had not changed, and in some areas had gone up. Transport unions in most of these states said they had received no CNG buses, while commercial operators pointed to high fuel prices, costly spare parts and poor road conditions as barriers to any reduction.
Tinubu’s Directive and the National CNG Programme
Tinubu had on September 19 urged state governors to ensure that savings from cheaper CNG-powered transport would reach ordinary Nigerians by October 1. The directive followed an August 27 meeting between the President and all 36 state governors, at which they agreed to deepen the use of alternative fuel vehicles under the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme.
The Presidential CNG Initiative has been central to the administration's strategy to reduce transport costs, with the federal government expecting to take delivery of 500 CNG refuelling stations before the end of October, according to Ismaeel Ahmed, Executive Chairman of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI). The first batch of stations has already been ordered and will arrive by October.
Fares Stay High Across Multiple States
In Anambra, passengers continued to pay N700 from Upper Iweka to Oba and about N2,000 from Awka to Onitsha. Commercial driver Uche Daniel blamed bad roads and expensive spare parts, noting that the closure of the First Niger Bridge had forced vehicles onto deteriorating inner roads.
Delta State transport union chairman Emeka Okoro said his union at the Asaba Summit Motor Park had not received a single CNG bus. "They have not given us any buses, and we have not reduced transport fare. We cannot reduce transport fare when the cost of buying fuel is still high," he said.
In Imo, a journey from Owerri to Akokwa cost N4,500 and Owerri to Awka as much as N9,000. Drivers said no CNG buses had arrived in the state. In Jigawa, commuters at Dutse Central Motor Park still paid N3,500 to Kano and N5,000 to Hadejia. In Oyo, the Ojoo to Mokola route remained N600, while Ogun passengers still paid N3,500 from Kuto to Ijebu Ode.
Edo and the Impact of Gas Infrastructure Gaps
In Edo, even vehicles that had already been converted to CNG had not lowered their prices, with operators blaming inadequate gas infrastructure and long queues at refuelling stations. The shortage of refuelling stations remains a significant bottleneck, preventing operators from passing on potential savings to commuters.
The situation in these 14 states contrasts with the federal government's claims of progress in other regions. The disparities highlight the uneven rollout of the CNG programme and the challenges of infrastructure development across the country.
Federal Government Responds
Ismaeel Ahmed, chairman of the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles, pushed back against the findings, saying October 1 was not a universal deadline but the date from which the Federal Government would begin monitoring fare reductions on routes where CNG and electric vehicles were operating.
Ahmed cited fare cuts in Borno, where electric vehicles charge about N15 per trip compared with N200 to N500 previously, as well as in Kaduna, Zamfara, where 100 electric taxis had launched, and Ebonyi, where civil servants and students travel free. He added that 20 CNG buses had been donated to Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority to serve routes including Lagos to Ibadan.
"It is a beginning. What the President said is that there will be commencement of fare reduction by 1st of October and God willing, we are going to keep following that up to make sure that we deepen it," Ahmed said.
The federal government's position is that the October 1 date marked the start of a monitoring process rather than a deadline for all states to cut fares at once. As the CNG refuelling stations arrive and more buses are deployed, the government expects fare reductions to spread. The impact of the programme will depend on the pace of infrastructure rollout and the cooperation of transport unions and operators across the country.
