As many Nigerians wait for the initiative’s larger impact, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not yet provided more clarification on the anticipated nationwide cut in transit fares.
Remember how President Tinubu promised that beginning on October 1, more Nigerians would begin to notice a noticeable decrease in transport costs? He made the announcement during a meeting with state governors on August 27.
The National Affordable CNG Transit Program, which Tinubu had indicated would accomplish the decrease, would use the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) as its foundation.
In an effort to lower transportation costs, he oversaw the installation of 500 more compressed natural gas refuelling stations around the country.
Even though we are now well into the month of October, transport prices are still somewhat high across the nation, and the promised reduction has had only a small impact thus far.
Sunday Dare, a presidential spokesman, did not react when Footynaija called him on Monday.
As a result of the projected drop in transport costs, Atiku Abubakar, the head of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) and a former vice president, has questioned the Tinubu administration.
According to Ismaeel Ahmed, the Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), transportation costs have started to decrease on certain routes.
On September 30th, Ahmed announced that, on some routes, passengers might pay far less than those taking regular commercial buses if the buses were powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). He mentioned the Gwagwalada-Abuja route as an example of a route where he claimed commuters could save over 40%.
According to Footynaija, fuel costs in Abuja and the surrounding areas range from N1,370 to N1,410 per litre, and transportation fares have been high despite the federal government’s CNG plan being implemented across several states.
Diesel costs anywhere from 1,940 to 2,000 Naira per litre in Nigeria.
Retail prices of N1,370 and N1,410 per litre, respectively, are high due to the high cost of crude oil—about $100 per barrel for Brent crude blends and $89 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude blends—even though gasoline costs have decreased by N20 to N25 per litre.
Transparency International Nigeria’s country director, Auwal Rafsanjani, commented on the news in an interview with Footynaija, blaming a lack of public accountability on the part of Nigerian elected officials.
Public authorities, in his view, frequently make empty pledges and proclamations.
The issue in Nigeria is the lack of public accountability, you know.
Therefore, public servants will perpetually pledge to do something, but they will never follow through. That is precisely why the people of Nigeria have lost faith in their government. Why? Because their leaders rarely follow through on their promises.
So, prior to the announcement, the mechanism to implement such changes was not in place. There was also no way to lessen the impact of the problem, similar to when the subsidy was cut. And then that proclamation was just made by the president.
This one follows the same trend. Despite our best efforts, the Nigerian people have not witnessed the results of our high aspirations.
This means the public will maintain their perception of government personnel as dishonest and deceitful.
“Stay calm and collected before making a public statement,” he advised Footynaija.