In a recent nationwide broadcast, Tinubu highlighted that despite Nigeria’s rich oil and gas resources, the country has historically relied solely on oil, ignoring its gas resources while subsidizing fuel costs.

Upon taking office, Tinubu eliminated fuel subsidies, causing petrol prices to rise from around N200 per litre in May 2023 to approximately N700 per litre currently.

To address this issue, Tinubu announced significant investments in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to transform the country’s fuel dependency.

“Fellow Nigerians, we are blessed with both oil and gas resources, yet we found a country dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources. We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for and subsidize its use,” Tinubu stated. “To address this, we launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, aiming to power our transportation economy and reduce costs. This will save over N2tn monthly, which we currently use to import petrol and diesel, freeing up resources for more investments in healthcare and education.”

Tinubu emphasized that his administration will distribute one million low or no-cost conversion kits to commercial vehicle owners, who consume 80% of the imported petrol and diesel.

“We have started distributing conversion kits and establishing conversion centers nationwide in collaboration with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will cut transportation costs by approximately 60% and help curb inflation,” Tinubu added.

Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria relies on imported petroleum products due to low refining capacity. Licensed individuals import diesel, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited remains the sole importer of petrol under the current administration.

In May, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, stated that Nigeria would cease importing fuel once his refinery begins producing petrol. However, the Dangote refinery has faced challenges as international oil companies have reportedly refused to supply crude to the facility.

Officials from the Dangote refinery claimed that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) insisted on fuel importation, granting licenses to import substandard fuel into Nigeria. In response, NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed denied these allegations, asserting that Dangote’s diesel had higher sulfur content than imported fuel.

Ahmed also warned against relying solely on the Dangote refinery for fuel supply, indicating that fuel importation would continue. The refinery had requested the regulator stop granting import licenses to other marketers, a request Ahmed refused.

Meanwhile, Tinubu intervened and ordered the supply of crude to Dangote in local currency, which he said would save the country over $660m monthly.