President Bola Tinubu has approved the expansion of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas to include electric vehicles as part of a new effort to reposition the programme and promote cleaner transportation options in Nigeria.
With the expansion, the initiative will now be known as the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PiCNG & EV).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday titled, “President Tinubu approves expansion of PiCNG mandate to include electric vehicles.”
According to the statement, the expanded initiative will lead and coordinate Nigeria’s clean mobility strategy, covering both gas-powered vehicles and electric vehicles across the country.
It noted that the programme will continue to drive the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas infrastructure, including Mother and Daughter Stations, Integrated Refuelling Units, CNG vehicles and equipment, as well as nationwide vehicle conversion programmes.
Onanuga explained that the expanded mandate would also oversee the development and rollout of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and related investments nationwide.
Consequently, President Tinubu directed the Executive Chairman of PiCNG & EV to immediately establish a coordinated process for the rapid deployment of vehicle conversion kits across the country and ensure that such kits are accessible to Nigerians at affordable costs.
To support this objective, the initiative will collaborate with CreditCorp Nigeria, financial institutions, and other relevant partners to design cost-effective financing structures that will make vehicle conversions widely accessible to the public.
The President also ordered the accelerated deployment of Mobile Refuelling Units to expand access to CNG while permanent infrastructure continues to be developed across the country.
According to the statement, gas remains a competitive and strategic fuel for transportation, leveraging Nigeria’s abundant natural resources to reduce costs, strengthen energy security, and conserve foreign exchange. The inclusion of electric vehicles further supports the government’s goal of promoting affordable, efficient, and environmentally responsible mobility.
The Presidential CNG Initiative was originally launched in 2023 as part of the Federal Government’s measures to cushion the impact of petrol subsidy removal and encourage the adoption of cleaner energy alternatives for transportation.
Nigeria is estimated to have one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, with more than 200 trillion cubic feet, making Compressed Natural Gas a potentially cheaper alternative to petrol for powering vehicles.
The initiative has been establishing CNG conversion centres and refuelling stations nationwide, with plans to convert one million vehicles to run on compressed natural gas.
