Ismael Ahmed, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PI-CNG&EV), has proposed making the switch from petrol and diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) mandatory for commercial vehicles across Nigeria.
Ahmed made the proposal during an interview on Arise News TV, where he discussed the Federal Government’s alternative-fuel programme and the need to accelerate its nationwide rollout.
He said Nigeria had moved beyond demonstrating the viability of CNG and electric vehicles and should now focus on achieving mass adoption, particularly in the commercial transport sector.
“We need to move to a point where we are going to mandate as a government that all commercial vehicles must run away from fuel, from PMS and diesel,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed estimated that Nigeria has about 12 million vehicles, with between 55 and 60 per cent classified as commercial vehicles.
He argued that transitioning this segment would have a significant impact on transport costs and fuel consumption, given the number of commercial vehicles operating across the country.
According to him, the CNG programme has already contributed to lower fares on some routes where CNG and electric vehicles have been deployed, although the benefits have yet to reach commuters nationwide at the desired scale.
Ahmed also pointed to Nigeria’s estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, noting that the country has the technology required to process and compress gas for use in transportation.
Lagos State has already taken steps towards a similar transition within its regulated public transport system.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) stopped accepting new diesel buses from operators in the regulated system from the beginning of 2026. New buses entering the system are required to operate on CNG or electricity, while existing diesel buses are being progressively replaced.
LAMATA Managing Director/CEO, Abimbola Akinajo, said the policy is also intended to reduce emissions and lower transport operating costs.
The authority had about 150 CNG buses before receiving an additional 20 high-capacity buses under the Federal Government’s PI-CNG&EV programme. Some of the new buses are expected to serve the high-demand Ikorodu-TBS corridor.
The economics of the transition have also become more significant as diesel prices have risen sharply. Akinajo said diesel, which sold for about N950 per litre at the beginning of the year, now costs between N1,950 and N2,100 per litre, depending on the source.
