FG licenses 81 firms to sell CNG as fuel price stays at N380 per SCM

The federal government has licensed 81 companies to retail compressed natural gas (CNG), up from about four previously. The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) Director-General, Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, disclosed this on Wednesday, August 27, after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

CNG currently costs N380 per standard cubic metre (SCM) for cars and passenger buses, and N450 per SCM for heavy-duty vehicles and lorries across Nigeria.

More retailers, but infrastructure still scaling

Osanipin said the jump in licensed retailers reflected real progress in building the infrastructure needed to support the government's CNG policy. But he cautioned that widespread impact would take time. Investment in filling stations, mobile refuelling units, and gas production facilities still needs to scale up before the policy can reach most Nigerians, according to Leadership.

"You can't put a policy in place today and start having the immediate impact," he said.

Motorists saving big in CNG-ready areas

The government has been promoting CNG as a more affordable substitute for petrol, partly to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy reforms on transport costs. Osanipin said motorists in areas where CNG is already available are recording significant savings.

He pointed to one motorist who travelled through Jigawa and Kano and switched to CNG in Kano, bringing fuel costs down from over N200,000 to about N40,000. "That's massive," Osanipin said.

Concern over operators not passing on savings

Fleet operators are also benefiting from lower running costs. But Osanipin raised concern that businesses are not passing those savings on to passengers and customers. He said tackling that gap would be the next priority once infrastructure expansion is further along.

"I have seen a lot of people who are benefiting from it, but they refuse to transfer the price to the masses. So that is going to be the next stage," he said.

Electric vehicles also in the mix

The NADDC boss added that the government is also developing electric vehicle infrastructure, with facilities already in place at about 16 universities, Punch reports. He confirmed that the first batch of electric vehicles Tinubu promised to civil servants had been delivered.

Both the CNG and electric vehicle programmes form part of a broader government effort to modernise Nigeria's automotive sector and shift transport towards cleaner, more affordable fuel options.

For the naira and consumers, wider CNG adoption could lower transport costs and reduce demand for imported petrol, easing pressure on foreign exchange. But until operators pass on savings, many Nigerians may not feel the benefit.