President Bola Tinubu says more Nigerians should begin to benefit from reduced transportation costs from 1st October, as the Federal Government and state governments intensify efforts to expand cheaper energy-powered public transport.

Tinubu disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, following a 27th August meeting with the governors of the 36 states, where he said they agreed on the objective of achieving measurable reductions in transportation costs from 1st October.

The President said an implementation committee for the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme was subsequently established under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and chaired by the Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

According to Tinubu, the committee, alongside PI-CNG, state governments and other stakeholders, is working to identify priority transport corridors, determine appropriate interventions and make the necessary arrangements ahead of the 1st October target.

He said the need to accelerate the programme had become more urgent amid the current global energy crisis and rising petrol and diesel prices.

Tinubu cited examples from several states where the adoption of CNG and electric-powered transport had already resulted in lower fares.

In Borno, he said CNG-powered and electric public transport services charge between N50 and N100 on routes where commercial operators charge between N300 and N600.

In Oyo, the deployment of CNG buses to Pacesetter Transport reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about N8,000 to N3,200 during the initial deployment, while alternative-energy transit services in Adamawa had reduced fares by as much as 50 per cent.

The President also said CNG buses in Enugu had reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from N2,500 to N1,500, while government-supported buses in Plateau carry about 13,000 commuters daily for N200, compared with more than N500 charged commercially.

He added that passengers using CNG-converted commercial vehicles on some Abuja routes had benefited from a 40 per cent fare reduction through the Federal Government’s partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW.

Tinubu said fares on the Area 1-Gwagwalada route had dropped from N1,500 to N900, Nyanya from N700 to N420, and Wuse from N400 to N240.

He further noted that passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route in Niger State were paying N550 compared with about N800, while Abia State had deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.

“These are not projections. Nigerians are already experiencing these savings,” the President said.

Tinubu commended governors and state governments that had moved quickly to implement alternative-energy transport schemes, but said more needed to be done.

He said the Federal Government would support states to scale up their interventions and ensure that lower energy costs translated into reduced fares for commuters.

According to the President, disruptions to global energy supplies were putting renewed pressure on petrol and diesel prices and increasing transportation costs globally.

He said the Federal Government had, over the past three years, invested in building a CNG transportation ecosystem across the country.

Tinubu said more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted, while Nigeria now had more than 400 certified conversion centres and over 90 CNG refuelling stations, with the figures increasing.

The President also rejected calls for a return to the petrol subsidy regime, describing it as costly and exposing the economy to fluctuations in international oil prices.

“At a time like this, our answer cannot be to return to the ruinous petrol subsidy regime that consumed trillions of naira and left our economy exposed to every movement in international oil prices, as some have suggested,” he said.

Tinubu said states including Edo, Kano, Delta, Kwara, Lagos and Akwa Ibom were also expanding CNG-supported transport services.

He disclosed that Edo had 50 CNG buses in active service, while Kano had converted more than 1,000 commercial vehicles. Akwa Ibom, he added, had taken delivery of 50 CNG buses ahead of commercial operations.

The President urged all states to sustain the momentum ahead of October 1 by working with transport unions and commercial operators, supporting vehicle conversion and fleet deployment, and facilitating the infrastructure required.

“Above all, ensure that savings from cheaper energy reach Nigerian citizens through lower fares,” Tinubu said.

He added that the Federal Government would continue to support the expansion of CNG infrastructure and conversion capacity while creating an enabling environment for states, transport operators, manufacturers and private investors.

“Now we must move faster and scale this so many more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day,” the President said.