Christmas: Travellers Defy High Transport Costs, Throng Motor Parks, Airports

Despite transport fares surging up to 80% from last year—Lagos to Enugu now N65,000 amid insecurity and crumbling roads like the East-West corridor—Nigerians are thronging motor parks and airports to reunite for Christmas 2025.

As the world celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth, festive crowds pack Lagos terminals like Jibowu, undeterred by N500,000 air tickets or doubled market prices for tomatoes (N18,000/crate) and chickens (N30,000).
LEADERSHIP findings show slashed budgets and groans over fuel woes, yet family traditions prevail in the Yuletide rush.

LEADERSHIP investigations reveal ticket prices from Lagos to eastern cities like Enugu and Owerri have surged 50 to 80 per cent from last year, hitting N65,000 or more, while market staples like tomatoes jumped from N8,000 to N18,000 per crate. Blame falls on insecurity along highways, battered roads like the East-West corridor, and doubled fuel costs, yet determined travellers pack motor parks and airports, slashing budgets to uphold Yuletide family traditions.

Despite the hardship, Lagos motor parks remained crowded as travellers insisted on keeping faith with the tradition of returning home for Christmas, hoping that, improved road infrastructure and a reduction in fuel prices would ease the burden before the next festive season.

Investigation by LEADERSHIP yesterday, however showed that, despite these hike, Nigerians still manage the little financial resources to plan for the celebration.

While major motor parks in Lagos recorded heavy passenger traffic as Nigerians scramble to reunite with their families for the Yuletide season, the general compliant is the hike in fares.

LEADERSHIP checks across Yaba-Jibowu and adjoining terminals in Lagos ans Ogun States on Wednesday, Christmas Eve, revealed that, ticket prices to cities in the South-East, South-South and South-West have jumped sharply compared to last year and even two weeks ago, forcing many commuters to either delay their journey or slash festive budgets.

At the GIG Motors terminal in Jibowu, a one-way ticket from Lagos to Enugu now sells for N64,750, while passengers bound for Owerri part with N62,450. Young Shall Grow Motors charges N60,500 from Jibowu to Awka in Anambra State and to Owerri in Imo State.

Chisco Transport Services is offering tickets from Jibowu to Benin, Enugu and Port Harcourt at N50,000, while several other prominent transport companies are pegging fares between N48,000 and N50,000 for eastern routes, with some luxury services quietly charging as high as N70,000 to N95,000.

The situation was another different at airports as there was intense hustle and bustle at ma
or airports across the country on Tuesday as passengers travelled in large numbers for the yuletide season, with a significant concentration of travellers heading to the South-Eastern States.

Most of the passengers were bound for Anambra, Owerri and Enugu, while a fraction travelled to Abuja and other parts of northern Nigeria.

Findings revealed that Air Peace had no available flights to Anambra as of the time of filing this report. However, tickets on Air Peace flights from Lagos and Abuja to Enugu and Owerri were priced between N430,000 and N500,000. Similarly, United Nigeria Airlines tickets from Abuja to Owerri, as well as Lagos to Owerri, Enugu and Anambra, ranged between N360,000 and N400,000.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a passenger on Air Peace, Mr Chukwudi Nwafor, said he was travelling with his family to Anambra for the festive season.

Nwafor disclosed that although he would have preferred to travel by road, prevailing insecurity forced him to opt for air travel.

“I spent over N1 million on flight tickets for my family. I would rather travel by air than risk being kidnapped on the road, pay huge ransom, and suffer the trauma that comes with it,” he said.
He, however, appealed to the federal government to urgently intervene in regulating airfare prices, noting that, the rising cost of tickets was becoming unbearable for middle-income earners.
“Airfare is hitting the roof and is gradually slipping beyond the reach of the middle class,” Nwafor added.

The fare hike is not limited to the eastern corridor. To South-West destinations, transporters are also charging premium prices. A trip from Lagos to Ibadan now goes for between N9,500 and N12,000, while Akure and Ado-Ekiti bound passengers pay between N18,000 and N22,000.
Travellers heading to Osogbo and Ilorin part with about N15,000 and N20,000 respectively, amounts many commuters described as outrageous for intra-regional travel.

These prices were between 50 to 80 per cent rise compared to last year.

For Chukwudi Nelson, a trader heading to Aba, Abia State, the experience has been disheartening. “I paid about N45,000 to go to Aba last December, but today they are asking for N65,000. In some parks, they even mentioned N70,000 depending on the bus type. It is simply astronomical. That is why I settled for N60,500 here, though still high, but it comes with some comfort,” he said.
Another passenger, who simply identified herself as Mama Emmanuel, travelling to Awka with her two children, lamented that, the fares had eaten deep into her Christmas plans. “After paying N60,500 per head, what is left for food and gifts? This journey is now like a luxury, but it is our annual family ritual to be at home and celebrate with our people,” she said.

An anonymous commercial bus driver, who declined to be named, attributed the hike to rising operational costs, stressing that, transporters were under immense pressure.

“Diesel and petrol prices have more than doubled compared to last year. You also see the roads from Ore to Benin and parts of the East-West Road, they are terrible. We burn more fuel and damage our vehicles,” he said.
He added that, insecurity on major highways has worsened the situation. “Drivers now factor in the risk on the roads. You can be stuck for hours because of bad roads or checkpoints, and nobody is compensating us for that,” he explained.
At Oshodi Market, a trader simply addressed as Mama Kalid described the chaos: “The market is rough and things are expensive. There are so many people scrambling for one or two items. I couldn’t even go to Ile-Epo because it’s too crowded, so I headed to Agege for pepper. A quarter crate cost me N10,000, bawa pepper N6,000, and tomatoes N6,000, just for a small paint bucket.”

Compared to last year at this time, she said, “Things aren’t that bad. Tomatoes were sky-high then, but not now, it’s just the festive rush pushing prices up.”

At Ikeja Market, Mrs. Kudirat Tijani painted a grimmer picture: “Everything’s very expensive since yesterday. A crate of tomatoes that was N8,000 on Monday is now N18,000. Pepper jumped from N30,000 to N52,000. A bag of onions went from N100,000 to N120,000.”

Yam tubers, once N2,000, now sells at N4,500, she said, blaming the holiday hordes: “It’s Christmas and too many people. Some shoppers even regret coming. No one regulates prices; sellers just say that’s the cost, ” she added.

To her, “even big chickens are selling for N28,000 to N30,000 now, up from N15,000-N20,000. Rice holds at N58,000, probably because companies bought in bulk for staff.”

At Oshodi, a chicken seller defended his N15,000 price tag amid haggling: “The buyer tried to talk it down, asking if it’s not too much. I told her, go to Arena Market, you’ll see the same size costs more. Pity us sellers too; we need some profit to survive.”