Francesca Odimgbe
Lagos and Benue States have taken delivery of new buses powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel.
The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) in line with Federal Government’s plan to reduce cost of transportation handed over 15 CNG and 20 electric buses to Lagos State to lower cost of transportation.
This is as Benue State Government ordered more vehicles, including CNG buses, to cut the cost of public transport in line with the directives of President Bola Tinubu for states to lower transportation cost by today.
Pi-CNG & EV’s Chief Operating Officer, Tosin Coker, handed over the vehicles to the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Abimbola Akinajo, in Lagos.
Coker said the handover was a practical step by the Tinubu administration to provide cleaner, more efficient and more affordable transport. “It is about what those buses will do: move more people, provide additional capacity, reduce operating costs and ultimately help bring more affordable fares to Lagos commuters,” he said.
He stressed that vehicles must be backed by infrastructure. “Deploying vehicles without the corresponding infrastructure is not sustainable,” he said, noting that refuelling stations, charging facilities, maintenance capacity and trained personnel must develop together.
Coker commended the Lagos State Government’s efforts, particularly through the Ibile Oil & Gas Corporation (IOGC), to develop CNG refuelling infrastructure. He said talks with the state would continue and could extend to cleaner, cheaper energy for water transport.
Osiyemi thanked President Tinubu and said the buses would offer greater capacity, comfort and cleaner journeys. He said high-capacity buses could move more commuters with fewer vehicles and potentially reduce waiting times on supported routes.
He called for more CNG buses and supporting infrastructure from the Federal Government. He also urged private investors to explore fleet financing, leasing, CNG infrastructure, EV charging, maintenance, technology, ticketing and fleet management.
Akinajo said Lagos currently has about 150 CNG buses, including 36 allocated to operators under LAMATA’s regulatory framework. She urged beneficiary operators to deploy and maintain the buses properly, and assured residents that LAMATA would provide regulatory oversight.
Similarly in Benue, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Sir Tersoo Kula, said in Makurdi that the state had ordered additional vehicles, including CNG buses.
He said the governor had earlier procured 100 Toyota buses for the state-owned Benue Links Nigeria Limited, and that the CNG buses would further boost the fleet.
Kula said the addition of CNG-powered vehicles would heavily subsidise the transport sector and significantly reduce fares. He added that Benue was on track to meet the Federal Government’s deadline on CNG adoption