Nigeria’s Compressed Natural Gas sector has attracted more than $980m in private investments in just 18 months, with vehicle conversions surging from 4,000 to nearly 100,000, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, Michael Oluwagbemi.

Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of the Portland Gas Ltd/NASENI CNG Daughter Station, Auto Conversion and Training Centre along the Kubwa Expressway in Abuja, Oluwagbemi described the CNG programme as the country’s “fastest-growing energy sector”, fueled by government incentives and private sector participation.

“I am pleased to report that just 18 months later, we have tracked over $980m worth of investments in the CNG sector. This is easily the fastest-growing sector in the country today, and it continues to grow in leaps and bounds,” he said.

The CNG initiative, championed by President Bola Tinubu as part of measures to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal, is aimed at making transportation more affordable and eco-friendly. Oluwagbemi said the transition to CNG offered motorists up to 90 per cent savings on fuel costs.

“Many of us move around in big jeeps, but that’s just about 10 to 20 per cent of the population. The majority, low-income earners, women, schoolchildren, and the aged, rely on public transportation, and transportation costs money. CNG is cheaper, cleaner, and part of a global shift away from internal combustion engines,” he explained.

According to him, strategic partnerships and incentives have driven the rapid expansion of CNG capacity across the country.

From just five states with CNG dispensing and conversion facilities a year ago, the number has now risen to 20, with more than 315 conversion centres nationwide. He projected that before the end of 2025, at least 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory would have CNG infrastructure.

He cited major private sector investments, including a N720bn outlay by BUA and Nigerian Bottling Company on CNG trucks and 100 fuelling stations. Oluwagbemi also urged the protection of CNG allocated for automobiles from being diverted to gas-fired power plants.

According to him, because of the incentive for transition to CNG use, using CNG allows about a 90 per cent discount. He, however, sought the protection of the CNG allocated for automobile use from being diverted to fuel power plants.

The Portland Gas Ltd Chief Executive Officer, Folajimi Mohammed, described the launched station as a gas hub because it has a combination of everything about gas.

He said, “This is what we call the Portland Gas/NASENI gas hub. We call it a hub because, one, we have an auto-conversion centre. We have a training centre. We have a refill station as well here. So we have a combination of everything gas.”

He disclosed that the company has secured approval for the same station to sell liquefied petroleum gas. He added, “So we have a four-tonne approval which you can see right behind us for cooking gas too. So, it is a full hub for gas.”

According to him, the cost of conversion has been subsidised by the PCNGI to the extent that it is free of charge for members of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners and National Union of Road Transport Workers, and Bolt drivers.

Mohammed said in order to extend the CNG to the northern parts of the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is accelerating the work on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline to also spread it across the nation.

Similarly, the Director-General of the Nigerian Agency for Gas Engineering Infrastructure, Khalil Halilu, said the station was strategically located on the Kubwa expressway since it is central to the North and southern parts of the country.

He said, “We are launching a station on the highway of Kubwa, which you know connects Abuja to the whole of the north, and even the southern part of the country. It is a strategic move to show that the government is ready to position CNG stations in partnership with the private sector, like Portland Gas, in strategic areas to ease transportation for Nigeria.”

He said in partnership with the PCNGI, NASENI has planned for the queues around CNG stations to disappear in the next two years. According to him, the queues indicate that Nigerians have really keyed into the CNG initiative.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, however, said it would enact legislation to stop the diversion of auto CNG to other uses such as power plants.

Asked whether the lawmakers would do anything to stop the diversion, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, who was represented by Alexander Mascut, said, ‘The lawmakers will make laws to protect the CNG for autogas.

“This transition from something we know to the new one is difficult. However, representatives of the House of Parliament will find a way to come up with legislation that will help to protect gas users.”

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President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday directed a review of deductions and revenue retention practices by Nigeria’s major revenue-generating agencies, in a bid to boost public savings, improve spending efficiency, and unlock resources for growth.

The agencies include the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Tinubu gave the directive during the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday in Abuja. The President’s directive was disclosed to journalists by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.

According to Edun, President Tinubu specifically called for a reassessment of NNPC’s 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction under the Petroleum Industry Act. He tasked the Economic Management Team, chaired by Edun, to present actionable recommendations to FEC on the optimal way forward.

The President said the directive was part of efforts to sustain reforms that have dismantled economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.

According to him, these reforms have created a transparent, competitive business environment attractive to local and foreign investors in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufacturing.

Reaffirming the Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said Nigeria’s goal of a $1tn economy by 2030 requires growth of at least seven per cent annually from 2027 — a target he described as “not just economic, but a moral imperative,” as higher growth is the surest path to tackling poverty.

He cited the July 2025 International Monetary Fund Article IV report, which he said endorsed Nigeria’s economic trajectory and the need for investment-led growth.

On grassroots empowerment, the President pointed to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme — a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the country — designed to lift economically active citizens through micro-level poverty reduction strategies in collaboration with states, local governments, and private partners.

Tinubu noted that public investment accounts for just five per cent of Gross Domestic Product due to low savings, stressing that optimising “every available naira” is vital, especially under current global liquidity constraints.

Edun said macroeconomic indicators were improving, with a more stable exchange rate, easing inflation, rising revenues, and debt-to-GDP ratios now within range. He described savings as the foundation of investment and said the President’s directive aims to quickly raise public sector savings by reviewing deductions and retention practices.

Meanwhile, Edun said he presented two memoranda to Council — a $125m Islamic Development Bank financing for infrastructure in Abia State, covering 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba; and a plan to refinance N4tn in outstanding electricity sector obligations.

The electricity debt resolution will be executed in phases, with the first phase expected within three to four weeks under the coordination of the Debt Management Office and other agencies.

According to the talking points by President Bola Tinubu obtained by our correspondent, he commended members of the Federal Executive Council for implementing bold reforms “that have dismantled longstanding distortions in our economy and restored policy credibility.”

Tinubu said the reforms have enhanced economic resilience, restored macroeconomic stability, created a transparent and competitive business environment, and bolstered investor confidence.

“As a result, our economy is now better positioned to attract both domestic and foreign private investment-investment that is critical to stimulating sustained growth, creating decent jobs, and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

“Our Renewed Hope Agenda remains focused on achieving a $1tn economy by the year 2030. To realise this vision, we must now accelerate our efforts to achieve a minimum growth rate of 7.0 per cent by 2027,” Tinubu said.

According to him, stimulating higher growth is the only sustainable path to solving the poverty challenge in Nigeria. “The recent IMF Article IV Report, published in July 2025, also affirms this trajectory and underscores the importance of investment-led growth.

“In line with our commitment to inclusive development, I recently launched the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme-a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.

“This programme is close to my heart. It is designed to empower active grassroots economic players, using a micro-level approach to tackle poverty. We aim to bring sub-national governments and private sector partners on board to ensure efficient and impactful implementation,” he stated.

He urged governors to accelerate growth by prioritising productivity-enhancing investments, strengthening food security, and deepening collaboration with local governments to address the poverty challenge and ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind.

Speaking on savings and investment as catalysts for growth, the President emphasized the critical role of savings in catalyzing investment and growth. “Currently, public investment as a share of GDP stands at a low 5.0 per cent, largely due to insufficient public savings.

“We must urgently review and optimize our savings. This includes enhancing spending efficiency and reviewing deductions from the Federation Account, such as the cost of collection by revenue agencies, such as FIRS, Customs, NUPRC, and NIMASA, etc.

“There is also the need to reassess the 30 per cent management fee and the 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction by NNPC based on the Petroleum Industry Act. We must optimise every available Naira to sustain our momentum and finance our growth trajectory-especially in a time of global liquidity constraints.

“Accordingly, I am directing the Economic Management Team, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, to conduct a comprehensive review of all deductions and revenue retention practices, and present actionable recommendations to this Council for an optimal way forward.”

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Just one day before the commencement of Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s direct fuel distribution scheme, marketers and tanker drivers said they had met with the company amid fears that they might be sent out of business.

The refinery would start its direct fuel distribution on Friday, August 15, having received some of the 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks needed for the plan.

Dangote’s announcement of the direct fuel distribution programme had sent shivers down the spines of tanker drivers and members of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria over fear that they might lose their livelihoods.

In reaction, the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria warned that the refinery’s plan to bypass existing distribution channels and supply refined petroleum products directly to end-users would lead to a nationwide disruption, long-term product scarcity, and the collapse of existing supply networks.

The oil and gas suppliers called on the refinery to halt its plan and seek further dialogue before commencing the distribution of products to end users, urging it to learn from what happened to non-functional refineries under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

They also called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the issue, stressing that Dangote alone cannot handle nationwide distribution of products sustainably. The NOGASA National President, Bennett Korie, made the call during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Abuja recently.

However, tanker drivers and the petroleum product suppliers on Wednesday said that they recently met with the Dangote Group in a bid to collaborate.

The National Publicity Secretary of NOGASA, Chinedu Ukadike, and the National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, confirmed this to our correspondent in an interview.

According to the NOGASA spokesman, both Dangote and the association have agreed to work together through the existing distribution channels. He said the fear of job losses had been allayed, as the refinery assured them that fuel would be sold to bulk buyers for onward distribution to end users.

Ukadike told our correspondent that Dangote would not sell petroleum products directly to end users; he would sell to NOGASA members as bulk buyers. “I want to say that Dangote heeded our plea by agreeing with us that they will be sending these products to the bulk buyers, who are the suppliers. Based on that, we don’t have issues again.

“What we were saying ab initio was the issue of the supply chain in which we have invested so much. We requested that the supply chain be given to us in distribution, which I think Dangote has also complied with, since he is not going to supply directly to end users. We want to appreciate him for that,” he said.

Ukadike stated that NOGASA members panicked because they thought Dangote would sell directly to end users. “We are the bulk buyers; we buy in bulk, and we supply. Before, we were thinking that he was going to supply by retailing to the end users, the telecom masts, hotels, and the rest of them, but now he said no, that he is going to supply to the bulk buyers.

“This is giving us that power as suppliers to continue our jobs. We were afraid that if he sold fuel directly to end users, our labour capacity would be lost and our return on investment would be in jeopardy,” he said.

Our correspondent asked Ukadike if NOGASA members met with Aliko Dangote or his team for the clarifications; he replied, “There was no time when Dangote said he wanted to sell directly to end users. There’s no way Dangote can sell to end users. We have met his team, and we spoke with his communication officer, who assured us of the value chain of distribution.”

He added that NOGASA members have started registering on the Dangote portal to be bulk buyers of the refinery’s products. He added that the trucks would supply fuel to bulk buyers.

“Some of our members who are buying in bulk are now their companies in line with the guidelines they gave to us for registration, so that they can take these products and sell to end users. We were told that the 4,000 CNG-powered trucks will be delivering to bulk buyers. Once you pay, they deliver to you, not to end users,” he explained.

In his words, the NARTO President, Othman, said consultations are still ongoing with stakeholders on the effect Dangote’s fuel distribution scheme would have on tanker drivers.

Othman stated that the association once met with Dangote himself, and there were plans to meet him again. “We are still consulting with our stakeholders. We met Dangote first, and we are going to meet him again,” he said.

The NARTO boss declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting with Dangote.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Devakumar Edwin, said the planned deployment of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks to support the distribution of refined petroleum products across Nigeria is aimed at ensuring that the benefits of domestic refining and the resulting reduction in fuel prices are fully passed on to Nigerian consumers.

Edwin stated that the introduction of the CNG-powered fleet is a strategic step to reduce logistics costs in fuel distribution—a major factor in the final pump price.

“The deployment of these 4,000 CNG-powered trucks will help us pass down the benefits of domestic refining and the reduction in product prices to consumers. The aim is to support logistics and make distribution more efficient, not to displace any existing players in the sector,” he said.

He further explained that the use of CNG-powered trucks, in addition to being more environmentally friendly, will significantly reduce transportation expenses, ultimately making refined products more affordable for Nigerians.

When contacted on Wednesday to confirm the position of the marketers and tanker drivers, the spokesman of the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, simply told our correspondent that the dealers should hold a press conference.

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