• Programme Absent In 27 States
• Southeast, Northeast, Northwest Yet To Have Filling Stations
• Less Than 50 Filling Stations Serving 131 Conversion Centres, Manufacturing Units
• Safety Concern, High Conversion Cost Fuelling Apathy Among Motorists

The Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG), touted as a revolutionary in the transport system by the government, is threatened by mistrust and dearth of infrastructure even as the important compressed natural gas (CNG) refuel stations are located only in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
  
Whereas the initiative has signed up partners across the automotive and transport ecosystem and commitments pouring into the programme from within and outside the country, actual investments are sluggish and sometimes take forever to materialise.
   
Nationwide, there are less than 50 CNG fuel stations, which are located in Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states as well as FCT. This leaves the entire Southeast, Northwest and Northeast still uncovered.
 
The conversion centres, according to findings, are also located in Delta, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos and FCT. Almost a year into the programme, which the Federal Government has pumped billions of naira into, there are 27 states where the presence of the CNG intervention is yet to be felt, in both conversion facilities and filling stations.
 
Ironically, there are more conversion centres than filling stations. The conversion centres, according to information on the Pi-CNG website are now 131 in number – which is about 160 per cent of the CNG existing filling stations that service the entire country.  There is also pressure from the CNG-purpose-built vehicles coming from almost all the auto assemblers in the country.
 
Even in Lagos, the melting point of Nigeria’s innovation, there are less than 10 filling stations, implying that adopters would need to travel tens of miles to refuel their cylinders. The same applies to FCT.
  
For many Nigerians, who are suffering the pang of high energy cost, the CNG revolution exists only on paper. The exclusive nature of the twin important facilities may be fuelling indifference among motorists across the country.
 
But there are also concerns about its safety, which the promoters have done nothing or little to address just as the conversion cost is unaffordable to an average motorist.
 
Yet, experts insist that CNG has several safety advantages over petrol such as being non-toxic and non-corrosive, being lighter than air, reducing the risk of pooling and explosion and higher ignition temperature (600°C) versus petrol (440°C).
 
Also, a report by the US Department of Energy says CNG vehicles have lower incident rates compared to petrol vehicles while the International Association of Natural Gas Vehicles also stated that CNG is considered 30-40 per cent safer than petrol.
 
Currently, it cost an average of N1.4 million to convert a petrol-powered car to CNG. On the high-end, a six-cylinder car costs N1.6 million to convert while a four-cylinder specification takes N1.2 million.
 
To increase accessibility, the Federal Government in collaboration with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, recently inaugurated 12 new CNG stations in Lagos and Abuja.

The newly commissioned stations in Abuja are located at Airport Road, Kubwa, Gaduwa, Olusegun Obasanjo Way Zone 1, Dei-Dei Junction, Duste-Bwari Road and Gwagwalada.

In Lagos State, the stations are located at Lateef Jakende, Agidingbi, Agege Motor Road, Mushin, Lekki-Epe expressway, Sangotedo, Eti-Osa LGA and Mobile Road, Apapa.

Findings from drivers, commuters and major gas marketers confirmed that a major hindrance to the CNG-powered bus initiative is the absence of the filling stations.

Stakeholders also harped on the urgent need for a robust network of CNG stations to support the adoption of natural gas as a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to conventional fuels for vehicles.
 
Pi-CNG was created last October to promote safer, more affordable and eco-friendly energy solutions. The government promised to roll out 5,500 CNG-powered buses and tricycles and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits for a take-off. A year into the programme, the government is still far off the self-set goals, which many Nigerians did not consider ambitious enough for a significant transition.
   
On the investment, the Head, Mobility and Projects, Sterling Bank Plc, Akin Akingbogun, told The Guardian that the CNG supply chain, comprising production, delivery and fuelling, require a significant amount of investment to create and support a well-coordinated and integrated system.

But he observed that the programme is not a short-term one, hence it would take some time for an investment to reach the required milestones. He admitted that there is slow progress in increasing the footprint of compression stations but noted that the ecosystem requires players in the virtual pipeline stage and at the upstream stage, where significant and strategic investment in mother stations should guarantee product availability.

He said the success of the initiative will depend on the government’s commitment and sustained effort in creating a playing ground that would encourage investors to key into the different stages and to bring the several pieces of the puzzle together.

A professor of transport management technology at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Callistus Ibe, said the CNG approach is creative but lacks the basic infrastructure that would drive it.
 
“If we are serious, efforts should be made to put the infrastructure in place, tackle the skill for conversion and resolve the issues of initial costs, which has made it unattractive.
  
For a professor of transport and logistics, Lagos State University (LASU), Samuel Odewumi, there is no way CNG would make a desirable impact with the low level of infrastructural development in the country. 
  
Odewumi said the emphasis should be on how to make the infrastructure available before “we go on an overdrive campaign for its adoption.” Can people adopt what is not available? he queried.
 
According to him, the coverage of CNG is less than five per cent of the national space. He said the related issue is that the government is deploying its energy and resources on procurement and gifting of the conversion kits – which is like a drop in the mighty ocean.

Odewumi said the government should facilitate an enabling framework in policy and infrastructural development support for the private sector for a massive rollout and adoption of the product, saying it is counterproductive to catalyse demand where supply is grossly inadequate.
 
According to him, the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) in Zaria has sufficient knowledge and technical competence to drive the initiative for the Federal Government as it was established specifically to drive such programmes.
    
Partner at Bloomfield Law Practice, Ayodele Oni, urged the government to actively participate in public network trials to understand and improve perceptions of CNG vehicles while enhancing public awareness.

Oni said although efforts are underway to switch buses from traditional fuels to CNG, the high conversion costs, mainly due to imported CNG kits and accessories, have slowed the progress.

He said authorities must stimulate market interest and attract more investment toward CNG vehicle development, noting that “increasing the number of CNG stations and establishing a robust gas pipeline distribution network are vital steps for encouraging original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to commit more resources to the CNG sector”.
    
Notwithstanding the flaws, he said, the Pi-CNG represented a crucial move towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning towards the net-zero goal. 

“There has also been advancement in establishing CNG refilling stations and related infrastructure to bolster the initiative’s success,” he said. The major challenges, he said, include gas availability and insufficient supply of gas for CNG conversion.