The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles has announced plans to extend transportation support to federal tertiary institutions across Nigeria, with the programme already active in 20 universities.

Ismail Ahmed, Executive Chairman of the initiative, revealed this on Monday in Abuja during a one day summit jointly organised by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Pi CNG Students Outreach Programme. The event was coordinated by the Northern Projects Coordination Office of NELFUND.

Ahmed disclosed that the programme had already deployed buses and tricycles to 20 universities to ease movement within and between campuses, with plans to cover all federal tertiary institutions in the country.

"Right now, we are in about 20 universities, we intend to go through all the federal tertiary institutions in Nigeria to give them buses and other tricycles for them to be able to commute between different places and their places of schooling," Ahmed stated.

He identified the University of Abuja, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Bayero University Kano, and the University of Ibadan as among the institutions already reached or being considered for inclusion.

Ahmed described the transport rollout as a complement to broader Federal Government policies targeting student welfare and educational access, adding that the initiative reflected President Bola Tinubu's commitment to affordable and sustainable mobility for students.

On the sidelines of the summit, NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr noted that student leaders from the 19 northern states were engaged to receive information on the government's education financing programmes. Sawyerr was represented at the event by fund official Umar Mukhtar.

Sawyerr revealed that 1,000,000 students from institutions across northern Nigeria had benefited from the student loan programme, adding that the president had sustained funding for NELFUND to cover both institutional charges and student upkeep allowances.

"It is not just a programme but an institutionalised initiative that will continue even after the tenure of the present administration," Sawyerr affirmed, noting that the National Assembly had enacted legislation to guarantee the programme's continuity.

He clarified that students in institutions where registration for the current academic session had closed would be ineligible to apply until a new application window was opened.

The Coordinator of the Northern Projects Coordination Office of NELFUND, Samsudeen Ahmed, added that the office regularly engaged federal ministries, parastatals, and agencies to ensure government deliverables reached communities across the northern states.