October 4, (THEWILL) – President Bola Tinubu, on August 17, 2026, raised the hopes of millions of Nigerians for a soft landing on the prevailing hardship in the country during a meeting with state governors, whom he urged to embark on an aggressive CNG- powered transportation system that would translate into a drastic cut in transport fares. A month later, specifically on September 19, the President updated Nigerians on the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme, launched after he met with the 36 state governors.
According to Tinubu, every state must maintain the momentum towards October, work with transport unions and commercial operators to support conversion and fleet deployment. The governors were to facilitate the infrastructure required and ensure that savings from cheaper energy reach Nigerian citizens through lower fares.
As an oil-dependent economy, with a high volume of road transportation, that presidential plea would surely have translated into reduced prices of food items, comfortable adjustment of the finances of many, especially those who commute daily, and weaned many transporters and vehicle owners off fuel consumption, which continues to face disruptions in the international spot market due to external factors like the ongoing US-Iran war.
The D-day was Independence Day, October I. The day arrived without any significant departure from the status quo. Now, between August 17 and October 1 is approximately one and a half months, probably too short a time to give the presidential directive any meaningful action. But the problem is that as of that date, there is no visible sign that anything has changed, that something was being done and would be done about the agreement the governors had with the President.
According to The PUNCH in an extensive report covering many states, “commuters across several states have continued to pay the same, and in some cases, higher fares. While some state governments have introduced subsidised or free CNG-powered transportation schemes, the initiatives remain limited in coverage, leaving millions of commuters dependent on commercial buses whose operators continue to grapple with expensive fuel, spare parts and maintenance costs.”
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In several states, transport unions said they had not received CNG buses, while motorists complained about inadequate infrastructure, including a shortage of refuelling facilities and conversion centres.
However, a situation report by the newspaper contradicted this claim. In all the states covered in the report, namely Enugu, Anambra, Delta, Imo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Gombe, Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states, the situation was the same. Transportation fares remained largely unchanged as the October 1 deadline took effect.
Interestingly, the Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, told the newspaper that October 1 was not a deadline for all states to implement fare reductions simultaneously, but the date from which the Federal Government would begin monitoring the rollout across the country.
Apart from state Commissions on Information, which said something was being done, virtually all transport union leaders and drivers said they were unaware of the CNG stuff, “while gas stations in the state were reportedly not operational.”
This CNG matter has been on the burner for the past two years, yet a visible, measurable outcome, to use the President’s words, is yet to be seen. His directive was supposed to give further impetus to a policy that may have faded without much ado. More importantly is the fact that almost all the states are governed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, so there ought to be a point of policy convergence between the Federal Government and the states. Finally, there is the question of optics. And it is this: If the APC- compliant governors fail to execute such a presidential directive with the required speed and attention, how can the ordinary citizenry make the governors do the needful?
The government should have used Independence Day to use this presidential directive to make a huge statement on governance in Nigeria.
