…FG Ends Subsidy Support

The federal government’s decision to remove subsidy support on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has triggered a sharp rise in pump prices, with motorists now paying as much as ₦450 per standard cubic metre (scm) across major cities.

For many Nigerians, the development is a fresh blow to household budgets already strained by high petrol and diesel costs.

Motorists and Transport Operators React

At a CNG refilling station in Lagos, commercial driver Ibrahim Yusuf expressed frustration:
“We switched to CNG because it was affordable after petrol subsidy was removed. Now at ₦450, it’s no longer the relief we hoped for.”

Transport unions are warning that fare adjustments may be inevitable as operators struggle with rising operating costs, a situation that could further fuel inflation in food and essential goods.

Why the Price Jumped

According to industry experts, the spike in CNG prices is driven by several key factors:

Subsidy Removal: Government’s withdrawal of support has exposed consumers to full market pricing.

Rising Distribution Costs: Inadequate infrastructure and high logistics expenses for transporting gas have pushed prices upward.

Exchange Rate Pressures: The weaker naira continues to inflate the cost of equipment and technology used in gas processing and distribution.

Growing Demand: With thousands of vehicles converting from petrol to CNG, demand has quickly outpaced supply.

Government’s Position

Officials say the subsidy removal is part of broader reforms to reduce fiscal pressure and encourage private investment in the gas value chain.

The Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGI) has promised to accelerate the rollout of new refilling stations and conversion workshops nationwide to ease supply constraints and stabilize prices.

Energy policy analyst Dr. Amina Adediran noted:
“In the short term, consumers will feel the pinch, but if government delivers on infrastructure expansion, CNG could still become a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol.”

What Lies Ahead

As CNG prices climb, Nigerians brace for higher transport fares and ripple effects across the economy. Analysts warn that unless urgent investments are made in infrastructure and distribution, the government’s clean energy transition plan could lose public support.

For now, commuters and businesses must adjust to the new reality, where the promise of cheaper CNG fuel faces its toughest test yet.

The management of Dangote Cement Plc has said that it is saddened by the passing this evening of Ruth Otabor, who was injured in a recent road incident involving one of its trucks in Auchi, Edo State.

Ruth was hit by a Dangote Cement truck on August 13, 205 close to her school, Auchi Polytechnic.

In a statement issued this evening in Lagos, the management of Dangote Cement said “on behalf of the entire Dangote Group, we extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time”.

Throwing some light on what the company has been doing to save the life of Ruth, the management said that “since the accident, our officials and insurance partners have been by her side, covering all financial and medical costs and supporting her family”.

It disclosed that arrangement had been made for her to be flown to India for advanced treatment pending medical clearance by her doctors, but regretted that “despite these efforts and Ruth’s brave fight to live, we lost her today”.

The management said: “At Dangote Group, safety, accountability, and compassion remain at the core of our operations”, adding that “we remain committed to strengthening our safety systems and supporting those affected in moment of tragedy”.

As part of efforts to sanitize and project the image of the transportation system in Lagos State and ability to reward good deeds and eliminate the bad eggs among the drivers and conductors in the state, Lagos-based frontline journalist and publisher of Nigerian Online Newspaper, August24news.com, Mr. Ajagbe Adeyemi Teslim is set to present the best driver and best conductor awards to deserving professionals in the state.

The competition is expected to start in January 2026 and end by December 2026 and it has been designed to be a yearly competition after the maiden edition.

The parameters and measures put in place to pick the Best Driver and Best Conductor in the state is through commuters’ commendations, score cards, online voting system by the general public, public opinions and other relevant methods.

Many drivers and conductors in Lagos State are known for their lackadastical attitudes, but there are still good ones among them, which is the reason we want to reward the good ones among them so that the wrong ones will emulate from the rewarded ones.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the convener of the Award and Publisher of August24news.com, Mr. Ajagbe Adeyemi Teslim highlighted some of the marks expected in every drivers and conductors before winning the awards.

He said they must possess good characters, good dress sense, good driving skills, saying that drivers and conductors must charge their passengers reasonable transport fares, possess good communication skills and relate well with their passengers, they should avoid stoping at undesignated bus-stops, avoid handling our naira with care because the way they are mishandling our naira is one of the reason why our currency is fading and changing faces.

In addition, he said that they should avoid bribing officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and other road transport officials because they want to have their ways, they must receive and welcome their passengers with smiles and greetings, avoid pushing and roughhandly their passengers into and outside the bus, they must not smoke and drink before or while on duity.

He said they should be able to help passengers with free ride if the person pleads with them and they should not fight passengers whose fare is not completed, they must not make calls while driving, they should sit properly and avoid hanging on the bus, avoid picking passengers at unapproved bus stops and his or her bus must be in good condition before plying Lagos roads.

On what would be the benefits of the winner, Ajagbe stated that the winner will go home with over dozen gifts which include, a brand new bus, a brand new private car, a duplex,  free 20 liters of fuel daily for a month, twenty four million naira cash, brand ambassador contract, driving contract, tour of 10 notable places in the state, courtesy visit to 10 dignitaries in Lagos State, automatic employment for two of his children in Lagos State, 24 different native and English attires from a popular designer, 24 new tyres, an award plaque, conductor and driver bet, a befitting gala night and Letter of commendation from the Lagos State Government, adding that the best conductor will also get whatever the driver gets.

When asked about what prompted the idea, the publisher said that he had witnessed many ugly incidents among Lagos drivers and conductors, which he said made him think of a way to change the narrative and to rebrand the profession.

According to him, “we want to put them on the watch, we want to set an agenda for them, we want to curb thier lakadastical act and non-challantant attitude such as drinking and smoking while on duty as well as reward the best among them, eradicate the bad ones and also encourage others so that they can be emulated.

He added that there is no agency that monitors thier activities in the state, claiming that what the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and local governments does is just to collect fees and levies from them.

Speaking further, he said; “I have witnessed a situation where drivers and conductors beat passengers because of a mere 10 naira change during argument.

“I have witnessed, where drivers and conductors abused and insulted passengers which led to trauma. I have seen where a passenger was stranded, trekked home and even begged for transport fares simply because a wicked conductors took his change away. I have seen where people where properly dressed, clean and neat, unfortunately a public bus tore and dirty thier cloth. These are people who are set for their daily jobs, going for job interviews and attending social gathering.

He said that on numerous occasions, he had seen situations where conductors and drivers returned lost phones, gadgets, loads and even bags of money to their passengers, saying that “we must not shy away from the truth or be economical with the truth, the good ones are still living and must also be recognized and rewarded.”

“I have not seen when conductors give passengers free ride out of the 365 days in a year. Some of them are not friendly with their customers, they should be able to give back to the society or their passengers and they should be ready to partake in CSR. Anyone who does this will win the award of the year,” he said

When asked what his organisation stands to benefit from the awards, Ajagbe told newsmen that his target are numerous because “we want the best for Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole. We want them to be responsible and accountable to their passengers and the general public. We want commuters to get value for their money, We want them to be good ambassadors because foreigners and the international communities see their practice.

“We want to set an agenda for them, we want to change the narrative, we want to change the public orientation that public bus drivers and conductors are respected people and not bad people as people see them.

“Some of them are always the cause of accidents on our roads due to their lakadastical attitude. We want the government to put them on a good pedestal. We want them to put a stop to their hooliganism and fighting during the cause of their business.

“The NURTW and the local governments are levies collectors. We want the state government to mandate drivers and conductors to start wearing uniforms and have numbers to identify the erring ones among them,” he stated.  

Speaking on the measure and yardstick to pick the best driver and best conductor among the thousands in the business, Ajagbe stated that members of the public will engage in voting after evaluating all the requirements.  

The drivers and the conductors will also appeal to their passengers to vote for them via hard copy forms, sms text code and online voting.

Ajagbe said that all commercial buses drivers and conductors in Lagos State are eligible to participate in the competition because it is free, adding that no payment is required to participate in the competition once he or she is a registered member of the union in a specific garage attached to a route in Lagos State.

When asked if the project will fly and accepted by members of the public and even get sponsors, Ajagbe said that 90 percent of Lagosians ply public busses on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis to their various destination and they must have had one or two experiences with some of these drivers and conductors and they will be willing to share their positive or negative thoughts.

He stressed that the job is taking a new look and dimensions, particularly when it’s coming with rewards and that sponsors are always keen to assist creative ideas and concepts like this.

“We would work in hand with the Lagos state government, the state Ministry of Transportation, Lagos State Branch of the NURTW State, local government branch and Unit Chairmen, drivers and conductors association and other relevant agencies attached to transport business in Lagos state”. Ajagbe added.

Ajagbe revealed that the whooping sum of one billion naira (1.000,000,000) is proposed for the project and then called on the Lagos state government, the ministry of Transportation, corporate bodies, well meaning Nigerians to key into the idea and response promptly to the proposal sent to them as he can be contacted through; [email protected] for sponsorship and partnership to produce the best Driver and Best Conductor in Lagos State.

Commenting on the project, is former LAGOS State commissioner for Transportation, Hon. Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN) stated that it is a laudable project that will add honour to the work of the commercial bus drivers and conductors in Lagos State as he kindly appealed to sponsors to fully support the project.