The price of Compressed Pure Fuel has nearly doubled in current weeks, rising from N230 to N450 per normal cubic metre following a authorities determination to scale back subsidies on the choice gasoline.
In keeping with The Punch, retailers have revealed that whereas vans now pay the total N450/SCM, personal automobile house owners and industrial drivers nonetheless get partial subsidies, paying N380/SCM to assist preserve transport fares steady.
The Punch additionally cited an nameless official from the Presidential Compressed Pure Fuel Initiative (PCNGI), confirming the brand new pricing construction. “The refuelling stations now promote at totally different costs relying on the kind of car. Vans transporting items pay greater, whereas buses that convey passengers and personal vehicles purchase at a decreased charge,” the supply defined.
The PCNGI official stated the initiative’s present focus has shifted in direction of increasing infrastructure to handle power provide shortages that pressure transformed car house owners to fall again on petrol.
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“Some car house owners have transformed to CNG, however when gasoline will not be out there, they fall again on petrol. Our essential drive now’s to extend the variety of refuelling stations nationwide,” he stated.
A significant CNG retailer confirmed that NNPC Fuel Advertising and marketing Restricted (NGML) applied the brand new pricing, however warned that prices may rise even additional to N500 or N600/SCM to draw personal traders into the sector.
“The federal government had subsidised CNG to encourage utilization, however the actuality is that the distinction between CNG and petrol is narrowing,” the retailer famous.
Automobile house owners who made important investments to transform their vehicles are expressing mounting frustration over each rising prices and chronic provide issues.
“Some folks spent as much as N1.5 million to transform their autos to CNG. Now with the worth improve and the queues, many might return to petrol,” stated Adeyemi Paul, a ride-hailing driver.
The federal government launched its CNG initiative in 2023 following the elimination of petrol subsidies, which pushed pump costs from N175 to N870 per litre. Officers promoted compressed pure gasoline as a extra reasonably priced various gasoline choice.
Since then, the programme has achieved notable development. Greater than 100,000 autos have been transformed to run on gasoline, a dramatic improve from fewer than 4,000 beforehand. The variety of refuelling stations has expanded from 20 in late 2023 to 60 presently, with 175 extra underneath improvement.
Conversion centres have grown from simply 7 to 265 nationwide, creating over 10,000 jobs within the course of.
Nevertheless, the rising worth of CNG and ongoing provide challenges now threaten to undermine public confidence in what was meant to be a long-term resolution to Nigeria’s transport gasoline prices.
