Nigerians woke up to yet another fuel shock this week. Just when many had begun to see Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as the long-awaited escape from the endless rollercoaster of petrol and diesel prices, the Federal Government has dropped a bombshell: there will be no subsidy on CNG.
What was once sold as the affordable “people’s fuel” is now quickly becoming another pocket-burner, with pump prices rising sharply and queues snaking across major cities.
Drivers who spent hundreds of thousands—some even over a million naira—converting their cars to CNG now feel blindsided. For them, the promise of cheaper, cleaner energy is starting to sound like a cruel joke.
In a country where every price hike feels like an earthquake, this announcement has left millions wondering: has Nigeria’s energy transition already failed before it even took off?
What’s Actually Happening?
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) broke the news, clarifying that CNG pump prices are determined entirely by the private sector, particularly players like NIPCO Gas—not the government.
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PCNGI emphasized that the authority to regulate pricing rests with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). Since April 2024, NMDPRA has maintained an incentive-pricing framework to keep CNG below petrol and diesel prices, and to curb price gouging.
Since launching the domestic gas market in June 2025, PCNGI, alongside the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) and NMDPRA, has worked to ensure a steady supply and long-term price stability. They’ve rejected repeating the “opaque subsidies” of the petrol/diesel era, favoring a transparent, investment-driven market.
To fuel investor confidence, the sector has attracted over $1 billion in new funding over the past 18 months, under President Tinubu’s leadership.
Why Nigerians Are Upset—And Not Without Reason
CNG prices have nearly doubled, rising from approximately ₦230–₦230 per Standard Cubic Meter (SCM) to as high as ₦450, depending on vehicle type and location.
Long queues—stretching up to 1.5 km in some centers—are now common, frustrating drivers despite CNG’s promise of fuel cost savings.
Many Nigerians invested heavily to convert their vehicles to CNG—some spending as much as ₦1.5 million—only to feel betrayed by rising costs and infrastructure shortages pushing them back toward petrol.
FG Defends The Move; But The Price Of Progress Is Hitting Lives
PCNGI argues that removing subsidies will create a sustainable, transparent, and competitive CNG market—a key energy transition pillar in post-subsidy Nigeria. However, the sudden cost jump only deepens skepticism among the very people it was supposed to help transition.
