Many Nigerians on Tuesday faced the reality of paying through their noses to move via public transportation following the hike in transport fares by commercial bus operators who claimed cost of Premium Motor Spirit has more than doubled since the announcement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that fuel subsidy will be removed.
Our Correspondent gathered that bus transport fare from Abule-Egba to Oshodi which normally cost between N300 and N400 is now N800 and N1000 in some instances.
Also, transport fare from Abule-Egba to Agege which usually goes for N100 and N150 is now N300 flat rate.
Speaking with Tribune Online, Mrs Jumoke Olatunji, a trader who sells in Oshodi but lives in Ekoro area of Abule-Egba lamented that the inauguration speech has done more harm than good to Nigerians.
According to Mrs. Olatunji, “Tinubu shouldn’t have said such statement during his Inauguration speech.
“He should have known that such statement would bring more pains to the masses. This is Nigeria where a statement from anybody in leadership position usually have rippling effect on the economy.
“How can I pay almost N1,000 from Abule-Egba to Oshodi? On a normal day, if I use BRT, it cost me less than N450 to get to Oshodi from Abule-Egba. If I use the yellow public buses, at most, I shouldn’t spend more than N500 to get to Oshodi from Abule-Egba.
“But today, I was shocked to hear conductors calling Oshodi for N800 from Abule-Egba and people were rushing to enter. What is happening in this country.
“If I spend N1,600 to and fro Abule-Egba to Oshodi and back, what am I selling that I will use to cover such expenses?
“President Tinubu should have known that such statement will only bring more hardship on the masses. He shouldn’t have said that on Monday.”
For some of the commercial bus drivers, the cost of buying fuel at petroleum stations has more than doubled since the inauguration speech of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu where he announced that subsidy is gone
Also speaking to the Tribune Online, a bus driver who identified himself as Taofeek Lateef said that fuel in most filling stations now goes for between N500 to N600 per litre.
In the words of Taofeek Lateef, “To buy fuel now, you need N600 per litre. If I buy 10 litres, that is N6,000 compared to the N1,950 that we normally buys such amount of fuel before Monday.
“If you must buy at the normal rate, then you should be ready to sacrifice the whole day at a filling station that is a Major marketer because they are the only ones selling N195 per litre as of now.
“The major marketers like Mobil and others are selling N195 per litre, but the queue is crazy. We don’t have such time to waste at a filling station to get fuel.
“The few filling station where there is no queue are selling N500 and N600 per litre. Except you go for Black Market where you can get it for N400 per litre.
“By the time we buy fuel at such a rate, are people expecting us to still carry Abule-Egba to Oshodi for N300 or N400? It’s not logical that way. We are on the road to make ends meet, not for charity.”
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