The transportation fares in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have risen following the hike in fuel price since President Bola Tinubu ordered the elimination of fuel subsidy.
The directive plunged Nigeria into its worst inflation crisis, causing a continuous hike in the price of petrol, cost of living and fall in value of naira leading to economic hardship in the country
Nigerians have witnessed a significant increase in the price of fuel since President Tinubu’s administration jacked up petrol pimp price from N195/200 to N617, and most recently, a further increase to N897 per litre on Tuesday and now currently at N980. This has resulted in higher transportation costs and impacting the overall cost of living.
In Abuja, transportation fares increased by between N100 and N200. For instance, transportation from Nyanya Under Bridge to secretariat rose from N500 to N700, from Duste to Banex which used to be N500 is now between N600 to N700 depending on the drivers. Lugbe to Berger has increased from N500 to N700, while Duste to Gwarinpa rose from N300/N400 to N500.
Meanwhile, the increase did not affect only private and commercial vehicles, commercial motorcyclists and tricycle operators have also increased their fares. For example, a bike from Gudu to Dogongada which used to be between N400 and N500 is now between N600 and N700.
An Abuja resident, Light Chibunna, complained that he usually spent N800 to work but now spends N1500 since a new fuel pump price was announced on Tuesday,
He said, “This transport thing is something else. The truth of the matter is that salaries have not increased while many people are already losing their jobs.”
Another Abuja resident, Ojetunde Quadri, expressed concern about how the rise in fuel cost has not only affected the cost of transportation but also started to drive up the cost of goods and commodities in general.
Mr Ojetunde said, “The fuel price increase has already led to an increase in the price of goods. I bought a sachet of peak milk recently for N300 instead of N200 that it was sold initially before the fuel price increase. I think the transportation price increase is still bearable at the moment but it will worsen if the present situation continues because the fuel price might go up to almost N1500 before the end of the year.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has yet to make any major statement concerning the recent hike in fuel price.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has however in a statement on Thursday said that the petrol market had been deregulated, indicating that prices were now being influenced by external factors such as global oil market trends, subsidy removal, and exchange rate fluctuations, rather than being controlled by the government.
