The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has dismissed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cut in transport fare by 50 percent for inter-state travellers and free train ride during the Yuletide celebrations.
In a reaction to the two offers last night, the NLC doubted the implementability of the pronouncement.
NLC head, information and public affairs, Comrade Benson Upah, told LEADERSHIP that the federal government was only “killing a cow with mouth,” a term which indicates that it is a declaration that will not work.
In his bid to ease travelling costs for Nigerians, Tinubu had approved a 50 percent discount on road transport fares and free train rides from December 21 to January 4, 2024.
The minister of solid minerals, Dele Alake, disclosed this to State House correspondents yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
But in a swift reaction, Upah, using a Nigerian adage said, “Government is killing a cow with mouth and we Nigerians are eating it with our ears.”
Also, the acting national secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Sulaiman Abdulkadir Musa, said the union is still skeptical about the mode of the policy implementation.
He said the federal government was yet to come up with a definite implementation module on who is supposed to benefit from the rebate.
He said, “The federal government engaged the transport union on the development but one issue there is with the capacity of some leadership of the union to be able to implement the policy.
“As far as I’m concerned, the mode of implementation is what is not yet properly defined because what happened between the minister of trade and investment is the issue of generating cost from an intended traveller at the point of loading. We are still having problems with that and we don’t know if the government is sending their representatives at loading points to be able to implement that.
“And I don’t think most of the union’s leadership has been able to communicate this to the various state and local branches, because they need to be briefed, they need to be adequately sensitised about the mode of the implementation.”
Some Nigerians have also expressed their disbelief to the workability of the transport fare discount
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a resident of Karshi town in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abubakar Adamu, urged the federal government to address the root cause of high transport fare rather than adopting a fire brigade approach to solving the problem.
Adamu said that the federal government should quickly fix all the refineries and get them back to work to enable a crash in the price of fuel which has caused domino effects on all prices.
He said, “I want the government to first of all address the root cause of these challenges but not the surface level. They should fix all our refineries to ensure that they work. I don’t think paying 50 percent of the transport fare for travellers is even enough because it’s not going to last”.
Minister Alake had said the presidential intervention was aimed at allowing Nigerians travel to visit loved ones during the holiday season without the burden of high transport costs.
“President Tinubu wants Nigerians to be able to travel within Nigeria to wherever they want to go to meet their loved ones without the extra-burden of paying exorbitantly for inter-state public transportation,” he said.
Starting from today, he said, Nigerians can board inter-state buses and minibuses for half the normal fare.
He further said train transport will also be free for travellers departing Abuja, Lagos, Kano and other major transportation hubs.
According to him, the discounts will be available until January 4.
He explained that the Ministry of Transportation will collaborate with transport unions and the Railway Corporation to implement the initiative nationwide.
According to him, the government is working hard to ensure Nigerians have a memorable and happy holiday season.
He urged the public to celebrate responsibly and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and happy New Year on behalf of President Tinubu.
Passengers Without Tickets Won’t Board Free Train – NRC
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has said intending passengers who wish to follow the free train service as announced by the president will register online and obtain the tickets for free as those without tickets will not be allowed to board.
Reacting to the president’s offer, the NRC, in a statement signed by its management, said: “Passengers are advised to obtain their free tickets via the online e-ticketing platforms only. Tickets will not be issued at any of the corporation’s train stations.
“Please note that no commuter will be allowed to board the train without a ticket. We enjoin commuters to be orderly, obey security personnel and the laid down boarding instructions of the NRC and those of its officials while at the station and on-board the trains.”
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