The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, has set out the agency’s achievements in his first year and laid out plans to expand the country’s CNG refueling and EV charging networks.

In a progress report, Ahmed said the foundation for non-hydrocarbon powered transport had largely been laid, describing the period as one of hard work and collaboration. He said work began as soon as President Tinubu assigned him the role, ahead of his formal assumption of office on October 31, 2025.

Among the milestones, he cited the rapid growth of the CNG-converted fleet, with tens of thousands of vehicles now running on the cleaner fuel. To sustain momentum, the agency launched a 100,000 Conversion Kit Programme and a financing scheme allowing motorists to spread conversion costs over time.

He said the mandate had been broadened to cover electric vehicles, leading to the launch of a Northern Corridor that deployed 40 CNG buses, seven electric buses and more than 200 CNG tricycles in Kano, alongside CNG and Liquefied Compressed Natural Gas stations commissioned in Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Kaduna and Owerri.

Over the next year, Ahmed said the agency would expand refueling and charging networks, deploy more mass transit buses and tricycles, scale up conversion financing and attract more private investment, with the long-term goal of cutting transport costs for households and businesses.