By Onu Okorie

Federal Government is turning university campuses into a testing ground for a broader effort to cut the cost of commuting, combining subsidised vehicle conversions with fixed-fare CNG buses as transport costs continue to squeeze students, lecturers and other workers.
Under the new scheme, students at participating public universities are expected to pay no more than ₦150 per trip, while lecturers and other university employees will be able to convert their vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) at subsidised rates.
The first phase will cover 20 public universities, with 100 CNG-powered buses to be deployed across the pilot institutions.
The initiative, known as Project SPROUT’s Campus Transport Scheme, is being promoted as a way of using Nigeria’s domestic gas resources to reduce dependence on petrol and shield university communities from fluctuations in fuel prices.
Speaking in Lagos during a briefing on the programme, Tosin Coker, a member of the Presidential Initiative on CNG Electric Vehicles, said reducing transport costs was part of the Federal Government’s commitments to university workers.
“An average household spends over 20 percent of their income on transportation. We are determined to reduce that,” Coker said.
He said the government would also make conversion kits available at CNG conversion centres, allowing lecturers, other university staff and members of the public to convert their vehicles at a subsidised cost, with payment arrangements designed to make the conversion more accessible.
A transport experiment on campuses
The scheme represents more than the introduction of cheaper buses. Its proponents are presenting universities as a controlled environment in which a low-cost transport model can be tested before being expanded to other campuses.
Coker said the programme would eventually extend beyond the initial 20 universities.
Fola Akinnola, chief executive of FEMADEC Group, a partner in the initiative, said the model was designed to reduce transport inflation without relying indefinitely on government funding.
He described Project SPROUT as a dual-track commercial model in which low fares for students are supported by the wider economics of the transport system.
“Students pay ₦150 a ride and that price does not move, whatever happens to the pump price beyond our gates,” Akinnola said.
The programme is already operating in selected institutions, including the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and universities in Abuja and Ife, according to the organisers.
The plan to use CNG is also intended to address one of the central problems exposed by Nigeria’s fuel-price reforms: the vulnerability of transport fares to changes in petrol prices.
Since the removal of petrol subsidies, transport operators have faced higher operating costs, which have fed into fares paid by commuters.
Why universities matter
University campuses offer a particularly significant test case because students and staff often make repeated trips each day, either within large campuses or between institutions and surrounding communities.
A predictable ₦150 fare could therefore reduce the uncertainty faced by students whose transport expenses rise whenever fuel prices increase.
For lecturers and other staff, subsidised vehicle conversion could offer another route to lower commuting costs by replacing petrol consumption with CNG.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Muyiwa Falaiye, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, welcomed the initiative, saying cheaper CNG-powered vehicles could significantly reduce transportation costs for members of the university community.
From cheap fares to a sustainable model
The bigger test for the programme, however, will be whether the promised low fares can be maintained as the scheme expands.
Keeping fares at ₦150 will depend not only on the availability and price of CNG, but also on the cost of operating and maintaining the buses, availability of conversion infrastructure and the financial structure supporting the service.
The government is betting that Nigeria’s large gas resources can provide a more stable energy source for campus transportation while reducing exposure to imported and subsidy-dependent fuels.
For students and university workers, the immediate issue is simpler: whether the programme can translate into consistently cheaper and more reliable journeys.
If the model works across the initial 20 universities, Project SPROUT could provide a template for expanding CNG-based mass transit beyond campuses and into other public institutions and communities.