The Nigerian government’s push for the utilisation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to fuel is being challenged by the lack of sufficient filling stations.

The CNG initiative has, in recent months, gained traction as many motorists continue to convert their cars in response to the high cost of petrol in the country. However, many Nigerians have described the difficulty in getting their cars refilled as ‘moving from pan to fire.’

“You will not believe that I have been making efforts to refill my car for the past four days, but there is no gas in the station close to me at Durumi, Abuja, except I drive to Airport Road,” Aisha Umar, an Abuja resident, said.

“How can the government be pushing people to convert their cars without adequate preparation on how these cars will be refilled? We are having conversion centres everywhere but no refilling station.”

The federal government, in July 2024, commissioned six refuelling stations to serve residents of Abuja.

However, these stations have become inadequate, as motorists drive long distances before getting to these stations. In some areas, CNG filling stations can’t be found.

Henry Orji, a businessman at the Gudu Market in Abuja, said he has returned to using petrol to power his car due to unavailability of CNG stations.

“Refilling my car with CNG is really cheap compared to fuel and I can tell you that I have saved some amount since I started using it. But getting it to buy is not as convenient as fuel. We have just this station here serving the whole of these areas,” Orji said.

BusinessDay’s findings also revealed that the high cost of conversion is a disincentive to many Nigerians. Currently, conversion cost ranges from N600,000 to N1,200,000 depending on size of the vehicle.

But speaking to BusinessDay on the cost of conversion, Micheal Oluwagbemi, the programme coordinator, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), assured that various products are now being provided by the private sector to make CNG conversion affordability, adding that the government was working on credit facilities that can reduce the cost of conversion.

Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) recently signed a partnership agreement to launch a N10 billion Credit Access for Light and Mobility (CALM) fund.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Presidency addressed public concerns over the safety of CNG vehicles, following the recent announcement by the Malaysian government to phase out the use of natural gas for vehicles by July 2025.

Responding to discussions prompted by Malaysia’s announcement to phase out CNG vehicles by 2025, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, clarified in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that these concerns do not apply to Nigeria’s CNG programme.

He stated, “The Malaysian situation concerns LPG, which poses unique risks that don’t apply to CNG. In Nigeria, we chose CNG only, avoiding LPG for safety and cost reasons.”

According to Onanuga, Malaysia’s CNG initiative faced significant challenges, with only a 0.2 percent vehicle conversion rate over 15 years.