FG to subsidise conversion of lecturers’, others’ vehicles to CNG, to roll out buses in 20 universities 

Federal Government has announced plan to subsidise the cost of conversion of vehicles of lecturers and other workers in the system to Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, engines as part of the effort to bring down transport fares on university campuses nationwide. 

This is just as the government is set to roll out CNG buses that won’t charge more than N150 per trip across university campuses. The first phase of the scheme would involve 20 public universities in the country. Disclosing this in Lagos, a member of the Presidential Initiative on CNG Electric Vehicles (PCNGI-EV), Mr Tosin Coker, said the initiative was a way to reduce household expenses on transportation.

He spoke during a press briefing to sensitise the public on the launch of CNG Campus Transportation Fare Reduction, otherwise knows as Project SPROUT’s Campus Transport Scheme at the main gate of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka. “About two years ago, when the Federal Government, through the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, brokered a peace deal with the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, one of the promises made was to reduce transport cost and we are continuing in the fulfilment of the promise. 

We know that an average household spends over 20 percent of their income on transportation. We are determined to reduce that. “To start with, 100 CNG buses are to be deployed in pilot universities for the scheme which will eventually go round our campuses. Also, in our CNG conversion centres,  we have conversion kits and our lecturers, and other staff, even members of the public can go and convert their vehicles to CNG at a cost to be subsidised by the FG. 

The payment will also be made friendly and easy,” he stated. Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of  FEMADEC Group, Mr Fola Akinnola, which is partnering with the presidential team on the project, commended the FG for the initiative. “The Ideology: Transit Relief That Pays for Itself Project SPROUT exists to shield Nigerian students and university staff from transport-cost inflation, using the country’s own gas

reserves rather than imported, subsidy-dependent fuel. 

Rather than a one-off grant, the scheme is built as a self-sustaining, dual-track commercial model that keeps fares low permanently while remaining financially independent of continuous federal support. “UNILAG is not just a pilot — it is proof that this model travels. The same dual-track structure now running at FUTO, Abuja and Ife is live here today, and it will look identical at every one of the twenty campuses we still have to reach.

Students pay ₦150 a ride and that price does not move, whatever happens to the pump price beyond our gates,” Akinnola stated. Deputy Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Muyiwa Falaiye, who represented the VC, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, said the conversion of vehicles to CNG engine, which is cheaper, would drastically reduce transport cost for all.

He lauded the initiative and urged that it should be sustained at all cost.

EU questions Binance operation after regulatory order to exit Bloc

European Union (EU) is asking Binance why the cryptocurrency platform continues to operate after previously being required to cease related activities.

EU officials are questioning Binance over its use of a legal exemption to continue serving customers in the region despite an order to wind down its business in the ‌bloc, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has directly contacted Binance to request confirmation that it is genuinely winding down rather than continuing operations under another guise.

Recall that Binance previously missed the July 1, 2026 deadline to secure authorisation under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), has withdrawn its application in Greece, and has been ordered to conduct an orderly wind-down of its EU operations.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, lost permission to offer services to European Union clients after its application under a new ‌license regime was rejected earlier this year, threatening access for millions of users.

Under new EU rules, called Markets in Crypto-Assets, crypto companies were required to obtain a license by the end of June to continue operating across the bloc. Without a license, Binance would not qualify to continue operating in the EU from July.

The European Securities and Markets Authority and national regulators are looking into Binance’s use of “reverse solicitation”, a legal exemption allowing companies based outside the EU to provide financial services to customers in the ‌bloc if those users seek the relationship entirely on their own initiative, the FT reported.

“The reverse solicitation exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed. It should be regarded as the exception and not be used to circumvent MiCA requirements,” ESMA told the FT.

Some regulators have requested information from the company and ‌could take enforcement action, including imposing fines, if they are not satisfied with Binance’s response, ‌the report said.

“Binance complies with applicable regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions in which it operates,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters, adding that it was “actively working toward becoming MiCA-authorised.”