“These Are Not Projections”: Tinubu Says Nigerians Already Enjoy Cheaper Transport

Tinubu Sets October 1 Target for Lower Transport Fares as CNG Rollout Expands

For millions of Nigerians who spend a large part of their income moving from home to work, school and markets, the real test of the government’s CNG programme is not the number of buses converted.

It is the fare paid at the bus stop.President Bola Tinubu has now set October 1 as the target for more Nigerians to begin seeing measurable reductions in transportation costs.

The President directed the 36 states to accelerate the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme and ensure that savings from cheaper energy translate into lower fares.

Tinubu said some Nigerians were already benefiting from lower fares. He cited the Suleja-Abuja route, where he said passengers pay about ₦550 compared with roughly ₦800, while Abia has deployed electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.

The President also said more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted to CNG as part of the developing transport ecosystem.

ADVERTISEMENT

But the October 1 promise will ultimately be measured differently by commuters. For a worker who spends thousands of naira every week on transport, a government announcement matters only when it reaches the conductor, bus driver and passenger.

The challenge therefore shifts from conversion to implementation. States must ensure that cheaper energy actually produces cheaper journeys rather than simply reducing the operating costs of transport providers.

Tinubu’s message is clear: the government expects Nigerians to feel the savings.The coming weeks will show how widely that promise translates into the daily cost of movement.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the administration is tying its CNG programme directly to the cost-of-living pressure facing households, with October 1 now set as an important test of that promise.