President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said state governors have agreed to take immediate steps to reduce transportation costs across the country by increasing the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
Tinubu disclosed this after meeting with members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the State House in Abuja.
According to the President, a joint Federal and State committee will immediately begin implementing measures aimed at reducing transportation costs, with the goal of having commuters benefit from lower fares from October 1.
“I am pleased with my discussion with the Governors’ Forum. The governors have, on their own initiative, resolved to take immediate measures to bring down the cost of transportation in their states, with a strong focus on leveraging the cost benefits of CNG and electric vehicles.
“We have agreed that cheaper fuel should result in cheaper fares!” Tinubu said.
The President also highlighted the progress made under the Presidential CNG Initiative, stating that more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted to CNG nationwide.
He added that another 100,000 conversion kits were currently being developed, while he had directed the rollout of 500 additional CNG refuelling stations.
According to Tinubu, the additional stations will bring the planned nationwide expansion to 1,000 CNG refuelling stations.
“A vehicle running on CNG spends 60 to 80 per cent less on fuel than one running on petrol,” the President said.
He noted that intra-state transportation was where Nigerians experienced the impact of high transport costs most directly, adding that state governments had a major role to play in addressing the challenge.
“From October 1, our goal is that Nigerians begin to partake in those savings through lower transport fares,” Tinubu said.
