Nigeria has about 160 operational CNG stations, with the FG planning 500 more to expand access to cheaper transport fuel

The Federal Government has disclosed that about 160 Compressed Natural Gas refuelling stations are operational across Nigeria, with plans to introduce another 500 facilities to expand access to alternative fuel and reduce transportation costs.

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The Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, announced this on Friday during the inauguration of a CNG Integrated Refuelling Unit in Karu, Abuja.

The facility was established through a partnership involving the State House, the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles, and Rolling Energy.

Ahmed said Nigeria had moved beyond the experimental stage of CNG adoption, with private investors committing about $2.6bn to infrastructure development across the country.

He said President Bola Tinubu had directed another round of infrastructure expansion, with about 500 additional units expected through the MDGIF.

“This is almost our 106th station across the country in less than two years. This is not beginning any longer. The market has been proven.

“The investors are chipping in $2.6bn worth of private investment. Our President has ordered another round of about 500 infrastructure units to come in through the MDGIF. So I don’t think it’s a proof of concept any longer,” Ahmed said.

He added that about 160 refuelling stations were currently operating nationwide, while another 170 were at different stages of development or awaiting regulatory approvals from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

According to him, additional facilities are expected to come on stream between this year and early 2027 as the government accelerates the expansion programme.

Ahmed called on more private investors to participate, saying the country needed a wider network of CNG facilities to serve its large vehicle population and improve access to cheaper transportation fuel.

“A lot of entrepreneurs are seeing the need for this, and they are coming in, and we are calling them to come in and invest more,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria had taken about 60 years to build a network of 24,000 petrol stations, which he said were privately owned.

The Pi-CNG chief also said the adoption of CNG-powered buses had reduced transport fares by between 30 and 40 per cent on some routes.

He cited routes in Abuja, Lagos and Kano, including the Kano-Katsina route, where passengers were reportedly paying significantly less than before.

The expansion comes as the Federal Government seeks to promote natural gas as a cheaper alternative to petrol following the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023, which contributed to a sharp rise in transportation costs.

Nigeria has substantial natural gas reserves, but much of the resource has remained underutilised, with significant volumes historically lost through gas flaring.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Temitope Fashedemi, said the facility reflected the government’s commitment to encouraging CNG adoption and private-sector participation.

He explained that the project involved converting an abandoned petrol dispensing station owned by the State House into a CNG refuelling and vehicle conversion centre.

According to Fashedemi, the State House provided the existing facility, while Rolling Energy funded its rehabilitation and installation of the required equipment without government expenditure on the project.

He said the arrangement was intended to demonstrate how government institutions could support the CNG programme by making existing infrastructure available to private investors.

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Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Rolling Energy, Mubarak Danbatta, said the facility demonstrated the value of collaboration between government institutions and private businesses in expanding alternative fuel infrastructure.