2027 race: Rattled by subsidy debate, Tinubu promises cheaper transport

President Bola Tinubu has suddenly put cheaper transport at the centre of his economic messaging, promising that Nigerians should begin to see lower fares from October 1 as the federal government and states expand the use of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles.

The announcement came as the administration faces growing political pressure over the most consequential economic decision of Tinubu’s presidency: the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023.

It also came after former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar revived the subsidy debate by promising to restore fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.

The issue has clearly unsettled the administration.

The Presidency, ministers and presidential aides have responded in rapid succession, challenging Atiku’s proposal and defending the decision to remove the subsidy. But the increasingly heated response has also pushed an uncomfortable question to the centre of the debate: if the subsidy was removed to free money for Nigerians and development, where are the benefits?

Tinubu’s latest intervention appears designed, at least in part, to answer that question.

After meeting the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the president said governors had agreed to take immediate measures to reduce transport costs, particularly through CNG and electric vehicles.

“CHEAPER FUEL MUST MEAN CHEAPER TRANSPORT FARES,” Tinubu declared.

He said a vehicle running on CNG spends 60 to 80 per cent less on fuel than one running on petrol.

“From October 1, our goal is that Nigerians begin to partake in those savings through lower transport fares,” he said.

Tinubu said he has directed the rollout of another 500 CNG refuelling stations nationwide, in addition to 500 previously ordered, bringing the government’s target to 1,000 stations.

The move is part of the Presidential CNG Initiative, which the government launched after the subsidy removal to provide a cheaper alternative to petrol.

Tinubu said more than 120,000 vehicles have now been converted to CNG, with more than 100,000 additional conversion kits being processed. The government is also expanding conversion centres and refuelling infrastructure, while the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund is financing more than 100 gas projects, including CNG mother and daughter stations.

But the problem is that Nigerians have been waiting for the promised transport relief since the subsidy disappeared.

The removal sent petrol from about ₦185 a litre to well above ₦1,000, triggering a surge in transport fares and raising the cost of almost everything that depends on road transportation.

The government said the sacrifice would ultimately free resources for infrastructure, social programmes and economic development.

Three years later, the administration is now asking Nigerians to look to CNG and electric vehicles for the relief that the original reform was supposed to help make possible.

And the timing has not gone unnoticed. Only a day before Tinubu’s announcement, the federal government commissioned its own mass-transit intervention: 100 electric buses for federal civil servants. Except, at the commissioning in Abuja, only 37 buses had actually arrived.

The outgoing Head of the Civil Service, Didi Walson-Jack, called the initiative her “parting gift” to federal civil servants.

“What we have here is 37 buses, being the first instalment of the 100 Electric Buses,” she said.

The contrast has fuelled criticism that the government is only now waking up to a transport crisis Nigerians have endured since 2023 because of looming elections.

The latest promise also arrives as the administration struggles to explain what happened to the money freed by the subsidy removal.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele has said the reform generated ₦15.8 trillion for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025. Of that amount, ₦5.4 trillion went to the Federal Government, while ₦10.4 trillion was distributed to states and local governments through the Federation Account.

The reaction to Tinubu’s latest announcement has been dominated by scepticism over its timing and frustration over three years of expensive transportation. Some questioned why the government was promising cheaper fares now when CNG has been part of its post-subsidy strategy since 2023. Others asked why the infrastructure needed to make CNG genuinely accessible was still being announced three years into the reform.

“It’s election time and all of a sudden you now care about reducing cost of transportation. The masses cried out to you for 3years but you paid deaf ears,” wrote Monday Ukpeya, an X user.

Another user, Uchenna Paul, wrote: “For over 3 years you forgot the long suffering people of Nigeria. A liter of petrol is 1,300 naira, a kg of cooking gas is 1,700 naira. You just remembered us all of a sudden because of election. Don’t worry we will count scores in January 2027.”