BY NSE ANTHONY-UKO, Abuja; ABIODUN SIVOWAKU, KINGSLEY OKOH and OLAMIDE OJUOKAIYE, Lagos
Commercial and private motorists across Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country continue to endure long queues at Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations, with many spending up to eight hours daily waiting to refuel their vehicles.
Findings by LEADERSHIP showed that the queues, which have persisted in recent weeks, are largely driven by the rising number of CNG conversions following the increase in petrol prices over the past six months.
Operators said the situation has been compounded by the inadequate number of dispensing stations and infrastructure gaps, rather than a shortage of gas, as more vehicle owners embrace the cheaper fuel alternative.
The Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) said the queues reflect growing public confidence in CNG and assured motorists that more stations would become operational in the coming weeks to ease congestion.
Motorists lament long queues
At the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) gas station at Ashade Junction along Agege Road in Lagos, commercial tricycle rider Bayo Oladimeji told LEADERSHIP that long queues have become part of his daily routine.
“There is hardly any time we come here to refill without meeting a queue. One major reason is that there are not enough stations dispensing CNG, so motorists converge on the few places where they are sure of getting gas.
“Another reason is that they stop selling whenever gas is being discharged into the storage tank. During that period, nobody is attended to, so the queue keeps growing.”
Another motorist, Idris Yekeen, who lives in Ikotun, Lagos, said he has no choice but to drive to Agege whenever he needs to refill because there is no CNG station in his area.
He dismissed suggestions that rising prices were responsible for the congestion, noting that the pump price has remained around N380 per standard cubic metre.
Yekeen, however, recommended the deployment of mobile CNG dispensing units, similar to one he saw operating from a mini-trailer in Ogun State.
“I saw one in Ogun State where gas was dispensed from a mini-trailer that could move from one location to another or stay at motor parks. That would help reduce congestion,” he said.
Another CNG user, Olusegun Popoola, attributed the queues to the failure of dispensing infrastructure to keep pace with the growing number of converted vehicles.
“The reason we are seeing queues is simple — inadequate gas stations. We now have more vehicles being retrofitted, but the number of gas stations has not increased. CNG is still affordable, but we need more dispensing points.”
Eight-hour wait in Abuja
The situation was similar in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where motorists reported waiting from dawn until midday to refill.
At the NASENI-Portland Centre in Dei-Dei, commercial driver Ahmed said he joined the queue at about 4 a.m. and was not attended to until around noon.
