FG to Collaborate with transportation companies to subsidize interstate tickets for Nigerians traveling over Yuletide season

The Federal Government may explore collaborating with certain major transportation companies to subsidize interstate tickets for Nigerians traveling over the Yuletide season, according to Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, who expressed his appreciation.

A 50% reduction in transportation prices along 22 interstate routes during the holiday season was announced by the FG on Wednesday.

Declared while briefing State House media at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, the statement was made by Mr. Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Presidential Intervention.

Segun Falade, a spokesman for the National Union of Road Transport Workers, also verified that the union would start implementing the fare discount on Thursday evening.

 

According to Alake, President Bola Tinubu ordered that commuters on all train services have free trips from December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024. It was in cooperation with companies that run luxury buses that the 50% fare cut was accomplished.

Responding to the news on Friday, Obi said that the intervention meant to assist the general public was a positive move in the right way in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Although his examination at several national parks revealed that the carriers were not abiding by the contract’s requirements, the former governor of Anambra State voiced worry that there were no checks and balances to guarantee compliance.

He wrote, “If fully implemented as reported, I consider this government intervention—the first of its kind aimed at aiding the masses—to be a positive step moving forward.”

But what happens later is the main worry with such emergency measures. Many people are aware of the difficulties and exorbitant expense of transportation.

This seasonal palliative begs the question of what comes after the holiday season. Does anyone know of a viable solution to protect the general public from the exorbitant prices of transportation as it stands now? Operational difficulties plague even the existing endeavor.

“Millions of individuals have already traveled, shouldering the heavy burden and enormous expenses associated with doing so. In what way will these individuals receive their reimbursement or wage?

“I have spent some time researching the mechanics of implementation across several places in response to the government’s statement that Nigerians would receive a 50% discount on interstate transit fares, but I have been let down.

I reached out to people today who spoke with a lot of the transporters in the nation’s major parks. They conducted on-the-spot investigations in Jabi and Utako areas in Abuja and visited Jibowu, Festac, Mile 12, Ajah, and Mazamaza in Lagos, and none of the transporters there knew about this 50% discount.

“The situation is same in other parts of the country like Kano, Aba, Kaduna, Owerri, and Gombe, as well as at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, which is the main traffic hub in Anambra.”

The presidential candidate for the LP went on to say that it was regrettable that a noble endeavor like this could be purposefully manipulated to make the lot of people’s lot worse.

Additionally, he challenged the FG to clarify that its 50% involvement wasn’t only a “spin” to fool Nigerians in the wake of the alleged manipulation.

The validity of this intervention attempt is obviously under scrutiny. One would think that transport corporations would be involved in the creation of a policy that aims to appeal to the people in general, particularly the oppressed.

I hope this isn’t just another ploy to win over the media after seducing the public. There is no way the government of Nigeria can continue to ignore the immense misery that the people of that country are enduring.

According to him, “government compassion is a good thing, but it shouldn’t be used as a way to take advantage of the government’s weak structures in order to promote the less than transparent implementation of policies.”