Regardless of securing greater than $2 billion in personal sector investments in over two years, the Federal Authorities remains to be falling wanting its 2025 nationwide Compressed Pure Fuel (CNG) infrastructure targets, elevating recent issues about implementation gaps.
That is in line with checks and inquiries carried out by BusinessTimes throughout key authorities businesses and trade stakeholders.
Whereas funding inflows and coverage backing stay sturdy, on-the-ground supply of refuelling stations and nationwide entry seems slower than earlier projections.
The Presidential CNG Initiative (PiCNG) was launched in 2023 as a core energy-transition response to petrol subsidy removing, with formidable plans to scale gas-powered mobility nationwide.
Nonetheless, months after saying a goal of 500 conversion centres and over 150 CNG shops by the top of 2025, clear information confirming progress towards that benchmark stays restricted. Consideration is now shifting from headline funding figures to measurable infrastructure outcomes.
What they’re saying
At a January 30, 2025 ceremony for 5 mini-liquefied pure fuel crops in Kogi State, Programme Director of PiCNG, Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi introduced plans to have a minimum of 500 conversion centres and over 150 CNG shops by year-end.
Checks on the initiative’s web site point out that greater than 300 conversion centres and over 40 refuelling stations have been constructed since 2023, however there isn’t a year-by-year breakdown displaying what number of have been truly delivered in 2025.
BusinessTimes’ requests for detailed efficiency information have been redirected between businesses.
Lara Obileye, the Gross sales, Enterprise Growth and Technique Supervisor for the PiCNG mentioned she couldn’t present up to date figures and referred inquiries to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
Dr. Ogho Okiti, Particular Adviser to the Minister of Finance, mentioned the CNG initiative workplace ought to present the related particulars.
- He mentioned, “I feel those that obtained the cash ought to be capable to inform you what they obtained.”
- A supply on the Federal Ministry of Finance described the ministry’s point out as a doable deflection of accountability. He mentioned, “mentioning Ministry of Finance is a deflection.”
Efforts to acquire feedback from the NMDPRA spokesperson George Eno-Ita have been unsuccessful as of the time of submitting this report.
As of January 2025, when the announcement was made, there have been about 50 CNG refuelling stations and 193 conversion centres throughout Nigeria, demonstrating a major hole between projections and present protection.
Backstory
PiCNG was launched within the aftermath of petrol subsidy removing in Could 2023, when pump costs surged, and transport prices climbed sharply nationwide. The programme was positioned as each a cost-relief measure and a long-term vitality transition technique aimed toward deepening home fuel utilisation.
- Programme projections point out greater than $2 billion in personal funding commitments have already been secured, with expectations of reaching $5 billion by 2027.
- The initiative is projected to generate hundreds of direct and oblique jobs throughout automobile conversion, cylinder manufacturing, station improvement, and logistics.
Authorities allocations have included N100 billion authorized in late 2023, N130 billion within the 2024 funds, and N225 billion within the 2025 funds cycle to help infrastructure buildout and conversion incentives.
Regardless of these commitments and funding allocations, stakeholders say most operational stations stay concentrated alongside pilot corridors and choose city centres, limiting nationwide accessibility.
Extra Insights
Trade stakeholders say seen infrastructure rollout has lagged behind official projections, notably in refuelling station deployment and nationwide protection.
- “Our members like the concept of cheaper gas, however drivers can not danger being stranded,” mentioned Audu Maiturare of the Nationwide Union of Street Transport Employees in Nyanya.
- “If stations are solely obtainable in a couple of corridors, nationwide adoption can be gradual. Infrastructure should come first earlier than enforcement or stress to transform.”
- “A few of our autos have been transformed, however route planning has grow to be extra sophisticated,” added Ben Ngilari, an Abuja-based industrial transporter.
- “Till refuelling factors are reliably obtainable throughout states, massive fleet migration will stay restricted,” he added.
Sector operators additionally cite bottlenecks, together with delays in gear importation, restricted native manufacturing capability for cylinders and conversion kits, regulatory approval timelines, logistics constraints, uneven state-level coordination, and restricted financing entry for small conversion centres, all of which have slowed deployment.
What you must know
The CNG initiative is central to the Federal Authorities’s broader technique to scale back transport gas prices and ease stress on international trade by shifting demand towards domestically obtainable pure fuel.
Policymakers positioned CNG as a less expensive and cleaner various for mass transit operators, industrial fleets, and personal motorists following gas worth deregulation.
- The programme goals to decrease transport prices nationwide and scale back reliance on imported petrol.
- It’s anticipated to deepen home fuel utilisation and help job creation throughout the fuel worth chain.
- Adoption stays uneven resulting from restricted refuelling entry exterior main cities.
With 2025 now over, infrastructure supply slightly than funding bulletins is changing into the important thing efficiency metric.
Power analysts notice that whereas funding commitments are sturdy, execution velocity and clear milestone reporting will in the end decide whether or not the initiative achieves its cost-reduction and energy-transition goals.
