Strategic partnerships have been identified as crucial to accelerating Nigeria’s transition to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), a move aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels, lowering transportation costs and strengthening climate resilience.
The National Compressed Natural Gas Forum (NCNG-F) has therefore called on transport unions, organised labour, private-sector organisations and financial institutions to intensify efforts to promote CNG as an alternative to petrol and diesel for transportation in Nigeria.
The forum said stronger collaboration among government agencies, industry operators, financial institutions and organised groups was necessary to make CNG more accessible, affordable, safe and reliable for Nigerians.
Speaking at the National CNG Adoption Conference and Strategic Stakeholders’ Meeting in Abuja, themed “Strengthening the National CNG Adoption and Mobilization Agenda,” the National Chairman of NCNG-F, Faruk Abdullahi, said Nigeria must move beyond policy announcements and awareness campaigns to practical measures that would encourage vehicle owners and commercial transport operators to adopt CNG.
“Our most important task is to turn stakeholder support into actual CNG adoption,” he said.
Abdullahi noted that the removal of fuel subsidy had increased transportation and production costs, placing significant pressure on households, businesses and commercial transport operators.
He said CNG offered an opportunity to reduce operating costs, strengthen domestic energy utilisation, create jobs and attract investment across Nigeria’s gas value chain.
However, he stressed that the availability of natural gas alone would not guarantee widespread adoption without adequate infrastructure, affordable conversion options, reliable refuelling services, proper safety standards and public confidence.
“People will not convert their vehicles merely because the technology exists or because government has announced an initiative. Adoption will depend on whether the alternative is accessible, affordable, safe, reliable and economically beneficial to the people expected to use it,” Abdullahi said.
He urged transport unions and professional associations to actively encourage their members to convert suitable vehicles to CNG.
According to him, the unions could help identify eligible vehicles, connect members with credible conversion centres, negotiate group conversion arrangements and work with financial institutions to develop affordable financing options.
He also encouraged them to organise demonstrations, awareness programmes and pilot projects that would allow commercial drivers and fleet operators to assess potential savings under real operating conditions.
Abdullahi emphasised that the transition should not be forced on transport operators without adequate information or consideration of their financial circumstances.
Instead, he said stakeholders should provide the knowledge, financial support and infrastructure required to help Nigerians make informed decisions about switching to CNG.
He also called on organised labour and workers’ associations to promote awareness among their members while ensuring that the transition addresses workers’ welfare, purchasing power and the rising cost of living.
Abdullahi identified the high cost of vehicle conversion, limited access to refuelling stations, financing constraints, low public awareness and safety concerns as major barriers to wider CNG adoption.
He urged stakeholders to determine which challenges required government intervention, private investment or coordinated action among unions, gas suppliers, conversion centres and financial institutions.
He said potential users needed clear information on conversion costs, expected fuel savings, vehicle suitability, maintenance requirements and the availability of refuelling infrastructure.
“Our responsibility is to create the conditions in which adoption becomes a rational and achievable economic decision,” he said.
The forum also called on petroleum marketers, gas suppliers and conversion service providers to build public confidence through transparent pricing, quality installations, compliance with safety standards and dependable service delivery.
Financial institutions and investors were encouraged to explore opportunities in gas supply, refuelling infrastructure, vehicle conversion, fleet management, equipment and related services.
Abdullahi said affordable financing arrangements would be particularly important in helping individuals, cooperatives, fleet owners, transport unions and businesses manage the high upfront cost of conversion.
At the conference, transport unions, petroleum marketers and other industry players told the Federal Government that inadequate refuelling infrastructure, weak financing and supply shortfalls remain the biggest obstacles to wider CNG adoption, even as the Presidential Initiative on CNG (Pi-CNG) said it had established more than 500 conversion centres nationwide.
Giving an update, the Conversion Manager of Pi-CNG and EV, Adaugo Uzogara, said the initiative had established over 500 conversion centres and more than 90 refuelling stations across 25 states since May 2023.
She said the programme had created several direct and indirect jobs and expressed hope that continued collaboration would extend CNG adoption to all 36 states, providing cleaner, cheaper and safer energy.
Representing petroleum product retailers, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, also contributed to discussions on the future of CNG and its role in Nigeria’s evolving energy market.
PETROAN’s participation underscored the importance of engaging existing petroleum retail operators in efforts to expand alternative fuel infrastructure, explore investment opportunities and ensure that the transition creates viable opportunities across the downstream petroleum sector.
During the open session, however, representatives of participating groups highlighted serious gaps on the ground.
They identified a supply gap as the biggest challenge, citing figures from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and noting that CNG stations are often crowded with vehicles.
They also said building a single CNG station could cost more than N3 billion and urged the government to provide incentives that would discourage Nigerian investors from moving their capital to neighbouring countries.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) said fuelling points were too few, noting that only a handful operate around Lagos and that queues can reach 50 vehicles.
They said existing diesel engines in tanker trucks generally cannot be converted, while buying a CNG truck or engine could cost about N100 million—an amount most members cannot afford.
The transport body said the 90 refuelling stations and 500 conversion centres were inadequate for the number of trucks on the road and called for new stations along coastal routes.
They also stressed the need for technology transfer and local capacity to maintain converted vehicles, and asked what financing had been mobilised and at what interest rate.
They noted that many trucks imported with conversion kits had gone out of service due to poor maintenance.
The stakeholders also described the reality facing long-distance operators, saying a trip from Lagos to Abuja offers only a few refuelling points, while drivers in Abuja can wait among 250 or more vehicles in a queue, even as some stations remain idle.
They questioned why transporters have no dedicated bank, unlike agriculture and industry, saying they are forced to borrow from commercial lenders at high interest rates.
The stakeholders praised the removal of the fuel subsidy as a bold step that opened the door to alternatives such as CNG, solar and electric power.
However, they noted that infrastructure, financing and capacity building remain weak, and called on the conference to issue a strong statement on how to address them.
They said the sector must plan around guaranteed buyers for gas, since suppliers who sign agreements must be ready to take delivery or face heavy penalties.
According to them, gas storage facilities are capital intensive, and Pi-CNG had performed well by first building demand through conversion centres.
The stakeholders agreed that safety, infrastructure, financing, local capacity and reliable supply must be addressed together if CNG is to become a practical option for millions of Nigerian motorists and businesses.