Former governor of Anambra state and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has faulted the implementation mechanics of the 50% fare reduction intervention announced by the Presidency on Wednesday.
Nairametrics gathered Obi’s opinion on the intervention initiative from a series of tweets he made on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
Recall that Nairametrics reported that that Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals announced that President Tinubu had approved a 50% slash in transport fares for interstate travels and free commuter rides on all rail lines from Dec. 20, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
Obi revealed that to ascertain the level of implementation of the intervention scheme across the country, he sent out contacts who consulted widely with the transporters in major parks across the country.
He, however, noted that the findings of the spot investigations his contacts embarked on in select parks in Abuja, Lagos, Onitsha, Kano, Kaduna, Owerri, Aba, and Gombe showed that transporters in these parks were not aware of this 50% discount.
- He said: “Today, I sent out contacts who consulted widely with the transporters in major parks across the country: in Abuja, they carried out the 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.”
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Peter Obi also pointed out that the Federal Government had not announced forms of checks and balances to ensure that the five transport companies chosen to participate in the intervention followed the terms of the contract.
- “There are obvious questions on 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,” Obi added.
While acknowledging compassion on the part of the government as a good thing, Obi noted that the weak structure of the government encouraged less than transparent policy implementation.
Backstory
On Wednesday, Nairametrics reported that that Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals announced that President Tinubu had approved a 50% slash in transport fares for interstate travels and free commuter rides on all rail lines from Dec. 20, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
And on Thursday, the Federal Government listed five transport firms, including GIG (God is Good) Motors, Chisco Transport, Young Shall Grow, God Bless Ezenwata and Area Motor, to participate in the implementation programme by reducing the burden of travelling 5 million Nigerians during the yuletide.
Also, Nairametrics outlined the 28 routes chosen by the Federal Government for the implementation of the 50% slash in transport fares for interstate travel.
Talk is cheap. Always good at finding faults in other people initiatives. Continue!
@Wonuola, have you (or even anyone you personally know) benefited from this so-called “initiative”?
For starters, does the government owned the buses and/or other vehicles traveling across the length and breadth of Nigeria? So, how exactly is this so-called “initiative” being implemented (or to be implemented)? Even if we concede it’s good idea, it is NOT a good “initiative” if it is not implementable – and in that case finding so-called “fault” with it is an EXCELLENT reaction, because critiquing shoddy work usually (at least in saner climes where everyone doesn’t just dobale to rulers) leads to improvements.
The Nigerian factor is a curse. The programme can be easily implemented as they have the routes and the partners plus the number of trips per day. Above all the signed manifest..
The rail aspect of it can be “easily implemented” since it is a government monopoly, but the government has absolutely no idea of who transports commuters from Kaura Namoda to Gusau, from Ugep to Isiukwuato, or from Akwanga to Guma, among others. SMH