Adebola Omotosho, a mechanic, must travel eight kilometers across the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, to restock his compressed natural gas (CNG).
He is one of the pioneers, in Africa’s most populous country, who have adopted this alternative fuel promoted by the authorities but still difficult to find. The financial and environmental benefits, he believes, outweigh the inconvenience of the journey.
A solution to end fuel shortages
“Before, I spent 75,000 naira (around $44) on gasoline, compared to 12,000 naira (around $7) now for CNG every week,” he explains to AFP.
Nigerian authorities see CNG as the silver bullet to end chronic fuel shortages and a five-fold increase in gasoline prices since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed fuel subsidies in May 2023.
In September 2023, Mr. Tinubu established the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) to encourage the transition to cleaner energy.
High conversion cost
About 100,000 cars have been converted so far, and more than $200 million invested, according to PCNGI director Michael Oluwagbemi, and the government is targeting the conversion of one million mass transit vehicles by to 2026.
Nigeria has about 12 million vehicles on its roads and wants to join countries like Argentina, Brazil and Iran, where millions of means of transport run on CNG.
But the cost of the conversion is high: around 1.3 million naira (732 euros) for a car with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. With some 129 million Nigerians living in poverty, according to the World Bank, and an exploding cost of living, few motorists can afford such an expense, especially as the country is currently going through its worst economic crisis in a century. thirty years.
“The initial cost of this conversion is prohibitive for most drivers,” said Chidalu Onyenso, CEO of Earthbond, a company that helps companies transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.
Technician training
However, Mr Oluwagbemi says salaried workers can get loans to convert their vehicles, with a 12-month repayment plan.
To achieve its ambitious goal, the government must also take into account the slow pace of conversions and the limited number of resupply stations.
Jide Fasetire, a qualified technician, explains to AFP from his workshop in Lagos that he has converted 20 vehicles since the government launched its campaign, and has 18 on its waiting list. A conversion takes at least two days. “Our goal is three hours, but we’re not there yet,” he explains, adding that technicians are being trained.
The fear of a “time bomb”
The October explosion of a CNG-powered car in the southern state of Edo fueled public concern and sparked a series of social media posts calling CNG a “ticking time bomb.” “.
Authorities blamed the use of “uncertified and poorly manufactured CNG cylinders” for the explosion and promised stricter compliance measures. “Security issues linked to the proliferation of unlicensed conversion centers pose a serious security risk,” Kelvin Emmanuel, energy expert and consultant, told AFP.
Babatunde Odukoya, a freight forwarder who spends 150,000 naira a week (about $88) to refuel his mid-size SUV, told AFP the Edo explosion had been “disheartening”.
Stop in Malaysia
The Malaysian government’s announcement to stop CNG vehicles, which it had introduced at the end of the 1990s, by July 2025 for safety reasons, also fueled Nigerian skepticism.
For Ms. Onyenso of Earthbond, the mass adoption of CNG will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and reduce maintenance costs.
However, she believes that the adoption of CNG is only “a step towards greening the transport network” in the country and that other solutions must also be considered, such as even less polluting electric vehicles.
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