Long Queues, Safety Fears, Others Threaten Nigeria’s CNG Shift

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LAGOS – Despite billions of naira in investment and more than 100,000 vehicle conver­sions, long queues, inadequate infra­structure and safety concerns are testing confidence in the Federal Government’s compressed natural gas (CNG) transi­tion agenda.

When President Bola Tinubu re­moved Nigeria’s decades-old petrol sub­sidy in May 2023, it marked one of the most consequential economic decisions in recent history.

But while the move brought imme­diate pain through soaring fuel prices, it also came with a promise – a transition to compressed natural gas (CNG), which the government described as a cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable alternative for millions of motorists.

Nearly three years later, the pro­gramme has become one of the flagship policies of the Tinubu administration. Government officials speak of unprec­edented investments, thousands of jobs and a new energy future. Yet for many drivers spending nights at filling stations and mechanics navigating unfamiliar technology, the reality has proved far more complicated.

A Programme Built On Big Ambitions

The Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) says more than 100,000 vehicles have been con­verted to run on natural gas. The initiative, which initially reported over $200 million in investments in 2024, now states on its website that it has secured more than $2 billion in private sector invest­ments and created about 10,000 jobs.

Officials have repeatedly portrayed the programme as a transformational shift capable of reducing Nigeria’s dependence on expensive petrol imports.

Speaking at a forum, the Exec­utive Chairman of the Pi-CNG & EV, Ismaeel Ahmed, described the rapid expansion of infrastructure as evidence of the Tinubu admin­istration’s long-term commitment to cleaner and more affordable transportation.

On paper, the economics ap­pear persuasive. According to government estimates, motorists can reduce their fueling expens­es by as much as 75 percent after switching to CNG. A driver who previously spent N80,000 week­ly on petrol could spend about N20,000 using natural gas.

For commercial operators grappling with rising inflation and shrinking earnings, such savings are difficult to ignore.

Officials of transport unions, including the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Ni­geria (RTEAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Work­ers (NURTW), have thrown their weight behind the Federal Gov­ernment’s compressed natural gas (CNG) initiative, maintain­ing that while the programme is still evolving, it is already delivering tangible benefits to operators.

They argued that critics should recognise that large-scale reforms take time to mature and stressed that efforts to address the country’s transport and energy challenges cannot yield instant results.

A senior RTEAN official, Babatunde Karim, said feedback from drivers and transport oper­ators indicated that the switch to CNG had significantly reduced daily running costs, with fuel ex­penses on some routes dropping sharply compared with petrol.

He described the savings as a major relief for operators strug­gling with rising costs, but called on the authorities to address per­sistent challenges relating to gas supply and low pressure at some refueling stations to ensure the long-term success of the scheme.

Across major cities in Nigeria, such as Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, among several other states, vehicle owners have dis­covered that the initiative comes with a different burden – endless queues.

Drivers frequently spend sev­eral hours waiting to refill their tanks. In some cases, they spend the night at filling stations, only to return home without obtaining gas.

Speaking with Daily Indepen­dent on condition of anonymity, a Lagos-based commercial bus driver who converted his Hiace bus in 2025, said the frustrations have become a regular part of life.

“The day I converted this bus, I thought I had solved my problem. The savings are real – I will not lie to you. But the suffering at the sta­tion has replaced the suffering at the petrol pump,” he lamented.

“Last week, I came at 6a.m. and left at 11p.m. without gas. My conductor had to borrow money so we could buy petrol and avoid losing a day’s work. We are going round in circles. The government needs to fix the stations before they keep telling people to con­vert. You cannot ask a man to buy a new plate and then not give him food to put on it.”

Another commercial driver, Akande Olawale, expressed simi­lar frustrations. He said the daily struggle had become so exhaust­ing that he was contemplating abandoning the transport busi­ness altogether.

“I may leave this commercial driving life for farming,” he said. “I am getting older and can’t keep pushing these daily struggles.”

Infrastructure Struggling To Catch Up

The difficulties experienced by motorists are reflected in the country’s infrastructure num­bers.

According to information released by the PCNGI, out of 63 mother and compression stations currently under development, only 28 have become operation­al. Similarly, of more than 175 daughter stations being developed nationwide, just 72 are presently active. These are concentrated mainly in states with pipeline infrastructure and high vehicle density.

Industry insiders say the prob­lem extends beyond demand. One fuel attendant, who spoke with Daily Independent anonymously, attributed the shortages largely to logistics challenges, including in­adequate transportation facilities and poor road conditions.

According to him, gas supplied to Abuja, for example, is transport­ed by road from Kogi State, hun­dreds of kilometres away.

As more motorists embrace CNG, existing infrastructure is increasingly being stretched be­yond capacity.

New Technology, New Challenge

Away from the queues, anoth­er concern is emerging – the short­age of skilled technicians. Con­version centres are springing up across the country, but industry experts warn that the quality of installations varies considerably.

A Lagos-based mechanic, popularly known as “Pablo” with nearly two decades of expe­rience, and who underwent gov­ernment-sponsored CNG training last year, believes the industry is expanding faster than expertise.

“In this country, when some­thing new comes, everybody rush­es to do it before they understand it. That is what is happening with CNG,” he said.

“I attended the training and it was useful, but it lasted only five days. Five days to understand an entirely new fuel system.”

He fears many technicians are learning by imitation rather than through proper certification.

“Some of my colleagues never attended any training. They sim­ply copy what others are doing. But CNG cylinders are not like petrol tanks. Poor installation or maintenance can cost lives.

“The government keeps counting conversion centres, but nobody is counting how many are doing the job properly. That is the number I want to see.”

Experts have repeatedly warned that weak safety stan­dards and inadequate public awareness could undermine confidence in the technology if not properly addressed.

Meanwhile, concerns about possible cylinder explosions con­tinue to discourage some motor­ists from embracing the system. For many transport operators, cost remains another obstacle.

Depending on engine size, vehicle conversion costs range between N1 million and N1.7 mil­lion. Although government subsi­dies of up to N750,000 are available for some transport operators, the initial financial commitment re­mains beyond the reach of many low-income drivers.

Regulator’s Defence

Regulators insist that concerns over safety and infrastructure are receiving attention.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regula­tory Authority (NMDPRA) says it is intensifying oversight across the growing gas value chain to guarantee safety, efficiency and investor confidence.

The Chief Executive of the Authority, Mallam Rabiu Ab­dullahi Umar, during his Senate screening, said the NMDPRA un­der his leadership would be “firm in regulation, fair in conduct, and fast in execution,” stressing that the agency would protect stan­dards, remove bottlenecks and promote professionalism across the sector.

He added: “Energy security is not measured only by volumes in storage. It is measured by whether fuel is available when and where Nigerians need it. We will build a supply architecture that is visible, reliable, and national in reach.”

For Ismaeel Ahmed, Chair­man of the Pi-CNG, criticism of the programme overlooks the scale of progress already achieved.

Rejecting suggestions that the initiative is merely politically driven, he points to the more than $2 billion committed by private in­vestors as evidence that the mar­ket itself believes in the transition.

He has expressed confidence that every state in the federation will have a CNG footprint by the end of 2026, ahead of the broader target of nationwide coverage by 2027.

Under the government’s long-term roadmap, Nigeria hopes to establish 2,322 CNG stations, create 3,000 conversion centres, convert one million vehicles and generate 75,000 direct jobs by 2027.

Nigeria possesses one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, giving it a unique op­portunity to leverage domestic re­sources to reduce transport costs and strengthen energy security.

But analysts say the success of the CNG revolution will ul­timately depend less on grand announcements and more on practical realities. They argue that inadequate infrastructure, high conversion costs and bureaucratic bottlenecks could slow the pace of adoption.

Speaking at a forum recently, a dynamic leader in sustainabil­ity, climate advocacy, and social entrepreneurship, Emmanuel Kilaso, warned that many rural and semi-urban communities remain cut off from CNG facil­ities, limiting the programme’s reach.

He said most of the facilities, designed for storage and refill­ing, are concentrated in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Edo, Oyo and Rivers states, with growing networks in Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti, Abia, Enugu and Adamawa, noting that the uneven distribution of stations, particularly the limited coverage in the North-East and parts of the South-East, has contributed to long queues and refueling diffi­culties experienced by some CNG vehicle owners.

Dr. Ayodele Oni, a leading en­ergy and natural resources law­yer in Nigeria, and a Partner at Bloomfield LLP, believes the issue boils down to one factor.

“One of the key success factors in any fuel-switching programme is consumer confidence in fuel availability,” he said.

At present, that confidence remains fragile.

Nigeria undoubtedly possess­es the gas reserves, the political ambition and increasingly the pri­vate capital to power a successful transition. But unless infrastruc­ture expansion keeps pace with adoption, the country’s CNG rev­olution risks being remembered for the promise it offered.

For now, the future of Nige­ria’s alternative fuel experiment hangs somewhere between hope and hardship.