Nigeria Reassures Public on CNG Vehicle Safety Amid Malaysia’s Phase-Out Plans

The Nigerian Presidency has moved to reassure the public about the safety of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered vehicles, recently launched as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional petrol cars in the country.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, addressed these concerns in a social media post on Thursday. His statement came as a response to reports of Malaysia’s plan to phase out CNG vehicles by 2025.

Earlier, PUNCH Online had reported Malaysia’s decision to end the sale of natural gas vehicles by July 2025. According to Free Malaysia Today, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced at a press conference that this move was motivated by safety concerns surrounding aging CNG tanks, which posed potential risks to public safety.

Onanuga clarified that the Malaysian issue stemmed from the safety risks associated with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), not CNG specifically. He cited a statement from Minister Loke noting, “There are also some car owners who have modified their vehicles using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, which are very dangerous.”

Explaining further, Onanuga emphasized that Nigeria’s transition to CNG-only vehicles, rather than a mix of CNG and LPG, was a deliberate decision made with safety and cost considerations in mind.

He pointed out that Malaysia’s CNG adoption rate has remained low, reaching only 0.2% over 15 years, while countries like India, China, Iran, and Egypt have reported significant success with similar initiatives. Onanuga noted that Malaysia also struggled with replacing outdated CNG tanks due to limited manufacturing capacity. By contrast, Nigeria, in its early stages of CNG adoption, is already addressing these challenges proactively.

While Malaysia introduced CNG primarily for taxis and airport limousines in the late 1990s, Nigeria’s CNG program, launched in 2024, aims to promote CNG as a viable alternative fuel option across a broader range of vehicles.