A former national secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, has criticised the Federal Government over what he described as inadequate infrastructural support for the implementation of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative, nearly two years after it was launched.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Osatuyi said the situation had become worrisome, citing long queues at CNG refuelling stations in Lagos and Abuja as evidence of systemic failure.
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s early commitment to introducing CNG as an alternative fuel, Osatuyi said the current pace of implementation falls short of expectations.
He mentioned that if the initiative had been pursued two decades ago, petrol consumption in the country could have been cut by at least 50 per cent. He listed the benefits of CNG to include cost-efficiency, environmental sustainability, reduced air pollution, lower transportation costs and enhanced safety.
Osatuyi lamented that infrastructure such as conversion centres and CNG refuelling stations to support the deployment of the proposed 200,000 CNG-powered buses and tricycles remained grossly inadequate.
The current budget for the initiative, he said, fails to match the pace at which Nigerians are converting their vehicles to CNG.
He emphasised the need for broader consultation and education involving stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, stressing that the Pi-CNG Committee should not assume a monopoly of knowledge.
“Vehicles often spend hours and days at CNG filling stations due to inadequate service capacity. Specific areas like Zuba-Kubwa Road, Abuja Airport Road, the Mountain of Fire area of Ibafo on the Ibadan Expressway and the Ibadan Tollgate are just a few examples where users experience long wait times,” he said.
He called for wider stakeholder engagement and cautioned against a centralised, top-down approach by the Pi-CNG committee.
Osatuyi likened the current situation to fuel scarcity crises of the past, noting that vehicles now spend hours and trucks, days at CNG stations due to low service capacity.
To address the gap, Osatuyi urged Tinubu, in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, to intervene directly.
He said that existing IPMAN stations should be allowed to co-host both CNG and conventional fuel dispensing points, describing the suggestion as a cost-effective approach that would accelerate CNG adoption without the need for fresh infrastructure.
This, he argued, would eliminate the need for building entirely new CNG-dedicated stations and position Nigeria alongside leading countries in CNG adoption like China, Iran, India and Pakistan.
He also urged Nigeria to draw lessons from countries like China, India, Iran and Pakistan, global leaders in CNG deployment.
“A successful CNG rollout requires a cohesive blend of government policy, economic planning, and infrastructure development, all of which are essential for long-term cost savings and energy security,” he said.
