Nigeria's Electric Vehicle Push Amid Power Crisis: Is It Feasible?

Tinubu Pushes Electric Vehicles as Nigeria Staggers Through Blackouts and Fuel Pain

Tinubu has expanded PiCNG to include EVs, but Nigeria’s power failures, gas shortages and grid collapses cast doubt on rollout.

Atlantic Post

March 27, 2026

3–4 minutes

Atlantic Post, Bola Tinubu, Clean Mobility, CNG, Electric Vehicles, Energy Policy, featured, Power Crisis, Transport

With the grid still failing, gas supply under strain and millions left in darkness, the Federal Government has widened its CNG drive to include electric vehicles in a move critics say is dangerously out of step with reality.

ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government has now added electric vehicles to its compressed natural gas agenda, but the timing is explosive.

Nigerians groan under darkness, rising transport costs, and unstable electricity. Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu is betting on a clean mobility future. Many say the country is nowhere near ready to support this future.

The Federal Government issued a statement on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, conveyed the message. The initiative will now operate as the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, or PiCNG & EV.

According to the presidency, the enlarged mandate will “lead and coordinate Nigeria’s clean mobility strategy”, covering both gas-powered vehicles and electric mobility nationwide.

The announcement comes at a moment of deep irony. Nigerians are still battling erratic electricity supply. They face repeated grid collapses. Worsening power shortages have left homes, businesses, and industries stranded.

Earlier, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, apologised for the blackout crisis. He admitted that some of the problems were beyond government control.

For many Nigerians, that apology only underlined the scale of the challenge. They ask how the country can seriously promote electric vehicles. The national grid remains unstable, and millions of households cannot enjoy regular electricity.

Yet the Presidency insists the programme is not a narrow EV project but a broader clean transport strategy. The statement said PiCNG & EV will drive the rollout of compressed natural gas infrastructure. This includes Mother and Daughter Stations, Integrated Refuelling Units, and CNG vehicles and equipment. They will also implement nationwide conversion programmes.

It will also, for the first time, “anchor the development and rollout of electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, and related investments nationwide.”

The administration is betting heavily on gas as a transition fuel. It described CNG as a “competitive and strategic fuel for transportation.” Nigeria’s vast gas reserves can help reduce transport costs. They can improve energy security. They also save foreign exchange.

It also said the inclusion of electric vehicles would strengthen the government’s push for “affordable, efficient, and environmentally responsible mobility”.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Executive Chairman of PiCNG & EV to immediately coordinate the deployment of vehicle conversion kits. This should occur rapidly across the country. He also wants to ensure that Nigerians can access them “at a cost that is not burdensome”.

To make that possible, the initiative will collaborate with CreditCorp Nigeria. It will also work with banks and other partners. Together, they will design financing packages to ease the burden on motorists seeking to convert petrol vehicles to gas.

The President directed the accelerated deployment of Mobile Refuelling Units. This will expand access to CNG. The permanent infrastructure is still being built.

But the timing of the policy is likely to fuel controversy. Nigeria remains trapped in a vicious cycle of power failure, gas supply constraints and repeated grid instability. In that climate, critics may see the decision to introduce electric vehicles as ambitious on paper. However, it may seem detached from the harsh daily realities facing ordinary Nigerians.

For now, the government is presenting the move as a bold step towards cleaner and cheaper transport. For many citizens, however, it raises a more basic question. How can Nigeria power electric vehicles when it cannot reliably power its homes?