The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election Mr. Peter Obi, said that the 50 percent slash in the price of interstate transport fare for Nigerians traveling during this yuletide announced by President Bola Tinubu is yet another Federal Government’s spin to curry favour in the media space after appetising the people. Obi in his X-handle platform on Friday, stated that following the announcement he took time to inquire into the implementation mechanics across different cities but was disappointed by the report he got.
The former Anambra State governor said he sent out contacts who consulted widely with the transporters in major parks across the country. “In Abuja, they carried out an on-the-spot investigation in Jabi/Utako areas; in Lagos, they visited major parks like Jibowu, Festac, Mile 12, Ajah, and Mazamaza and none of the transporters in these parks was aware of this 50% discount. “At Upper Iweka, Onitsha, which is the main traffic hub in Anambra, and in other parts of the country like; Kano, Aba, Kaduna, Owerri, and Gombe, the story is the same,” he stated.
Obi regretted that the announcement which involves few transport companies chosen to participate in the intervention in 28 designated routes has no form of checks and balances to ensure that the transporters follow the terms of the contract. “There are obvious questions about the integrity of this intervention effort. One expects that such a policy that strives to appeal to the broad masses, especially the downtrodden, deliberate and concrete arrangements should be made, with transport companies,” he said. He noted that Nigerians are going through untold hardship and wondered why government must remain insensitive to their sufferings.
“Compassion on the part of the government is a good thing, but it should not be an avenue for exploiting the weak structures of government to encourage less-than-transparent policy implementation. According to Obi, if the programme is fully implemented, it would be the first-time intervention of the government, intended to help the masses. The LP Presidential candidate stated that the high cost of transportation and associated hardships were all well known, adding that the question this seasonal palliative raises is that of what happens after the festive season.
He wondered whether there was a sustainable policy measure to cushion the masses from the current high transportation costs. “Even the current effort comes with operational challenges. Millions of peo- ple have already travelled bearing the brunt and huge costs of such travels. How will such people get their refunds or be compensated? President Tinubu had said that the policy would be from Thursday 21, 2023 to January 4, 2024. He also approved free rides for commuters on all train ser- vices within the period.
