Three commercial transport operators say compressed natural gas (CNG) has significantly reduced their fuelling costs, but long queues, inconsistent dispensing pressure and a shortage of fuelling stations are eroding the benefits.
The operators spoke in separate interviews with reporters on Sunday in Lagos.
President Bola Tinubu reportedly directed the accelerated deployment of mobile refuelling units in March 2026 to improve access to CNG while permanent infrastructure is expanded.
One operator, Fatai Mohammed, a driver for a corporate organisation, said his vehicle’s 75-litre CNG cylinder could hold up to 17 standard cubic metres (SCM) of gas.
He said a refill cost about N6,460 at N380 per SCM, compared with the N30,000 he would spend on petrol for the same daily trips to the office—a potential saving of N23,540.
He said the amount dispensed sometimes ranged from seven to 16 SCM, depending on the pressure available at the station.
Mohammed said his daily trips covered 25 to 30 kilometres each way.
“Using CNG is the only thing that has been saving us money because using only fuel (premium motor spirit) increases our expenditure tremendously,” he said.
Despite the savings, Mohammed identified long queues as a major challenge, saying motorists sometimes spent several hours waiting to refuel.
He said he usually dropped his passengers at the office before going to a filling station, where he sometimes spent most of the day waiting.
“Although I sometimes manage to refuel before 4 p.m., there are occasions when I leave without gas because of the long queues.
“If you go to the station by 9 a.m., you may still be there by 3 p.m.
“CNG itself is not expensive, but when you calculate the time spent waiting to refuel, you realise that you are losing valuable working hours.
“The government should make more CNG fuelling stations available to improve access,” he said.
Another operator, Chinedu Okpara, who drives a bus that uses both petrol and CNG, said gas was more economical but difficult to access.
Okpara said long queues and alleged demands for tips by some filling station attendants had made refuelling frustrating.
“I prefer CNG because it saves me a lot of money. What I do not like is the time I waste trying to refuel and the lobbying that goes on at filling stations.
“CNG is a good thing, but the circumstances surrounding access to it are discouraging,” he said.
Airport taxi operator Kennedy Briggs said he had converted his vehicle to CNG to reduce the rising cost of petrol and eventually make his services more affordable.
Briggs said that three months after the conversion, he had yet to reduce his fares because he was still recovering his investment and losing working hours while waiting to refuel.
“The delays have made it difficult to reduce fares, despite my intention to make airport taxi services more accessible.
“People complain that airport taxis are expensive, and I hoped to reduce my fares. However, I am still trying to recover the money spent on the conversion.
“On days when I need to refuel, I sometimes end up not working at all because I spend several hours in the queue. After such a loss, I still have to maintain my prices to make some profit,” he said.
Briggs urged the authorities to address the difficulties facing CNG users and provide more accessible fuelling alternatives.
He said returning to petrol would mean going back to the high fuelling costs he had sought to avoid.
“I cannot go back to buying petrol at an exorbitant price after all the sacrifices I have made so far. We need government intervention and alternatives to make fuelling easier,” he said.
