Atiku To Tinubu: Publish Cheaper Fare Routes You Promised Nigeria On October 1

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to provide details of the cheaper transport routes and fares promised to Nigerians from October 1, asking the administration to show commuters exactly where the reductions are taking effect.

Atiku’s challenge came on Thursday, October 1, 2026, hours after Tinubu delivered his Independence Day address in which he defended his administration’s economic reforms and said Nigerians had “made hard decisions together.”

In a national broadcast which responded to the President’s address, Atiku questioned whether Tinubu’s October 1 transport-fare target had translated into measurable relief for commuters.

“Before I forget, you promised Nigerians lower transport fares from October 1. Today is October 1. Did your promise miss the bus?” Atiku asked.

The former vice president also criticised Tinubu for what he described as a failure to provide sufficient details about the implementation of the promised fare reductions.

“In your Independence Day speech, you found time to attack my plan to make life affordable. But you did not tell commuters which additional routes became cheaper today, what the fares were before, what they cost now, or how many people can use them,” he said.

Atiku said reductions on selected routes would be welcome but argued that they would not by themselves resolve the wider transportation difficulties confronting Nigerians.

He challenged the administration to publish the affected routes, old and new fares, and the number of commuters benefiting from the programme.

“Bola, publish the routes, the fares and the number of people benefiting. Show Nigerians the cheaper journey you promised,” he said.

The criticism comes against the backdrop of Tinubu’s September 19 directive to state governments to accelerate the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme ahead of October 1.

The President had said the Federal Government and the 36 state governors agreed on a target for “more Nigerians” to begin experiencing measurable reductions in transportation costs from October 1. He urged states to work with transport unions and commercial operators to ensure savings from cheaper energy were passed on to commuters. 

Tinubu also cited existing fare reductions in several states. According to the President, CNG-powered and electric public transport services in Borno were carrying passengers for between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where commercial operators charged between ₦300 and ₦600. He said Kaduna’s 100 CNG buses had provided free transportation on major routes, while CNG buses in Oyo had reduced the Lagos–Ibadan fare from about ₦8,000 to ₦3,200 during their initial deployment. 

He further cited reductions on selected routes in Abuja, including Area 1–Gwagwalada, where he said the fare had fallen from ₦1,500 to ₦900; Nyanya, from ₦700 to ₦420; and Wuse, from ₦400 to ₦240. He also mentioned reductions in Enugu, Adamawa, Plateau and Niger State. 

However, reporting on October 1 indicated that high transport costs remained a concern in parts of the country, with limited CNG availability, inadequate refuelling infrastructure and high operating costs identified as constraints to wider fare reductions. 

In his Independence Day address on Thursday, Tinubu did not set out a new list of transport routes or fares. Instead, he said his administration’s priority was to reduce the cost of living by lowering the cost of producing and moving goods, while describing the economic reforms undertaken since 2023 as necessary steps towards prosperity. 

The President also said Nigerians had “travelled through difficult years together” and that “we have made hard decisions together,” before urging citizens to look ahead to what he called an emerging era of prosperity. 

Atiku, however, disputed the characterisation of the reforms as a shared national journey.

“My dear Bola, you said the people ‘cannot wait for tomorrow.’ On that, I agree with you. Yet almost every answer in your address was about tomorrow,” he said.

“But Nigerians are hungry today. They pay transport fares today. They need jobs and safety today.”

He also rejected Tinubu’s assertion that Nigerians made the difficult decisions together, arguing that the consequences of the government’s policies had largely been borne by citizens.

“No, Bola! You made the decisions alone, not with Nigerians. The people have only paid the price for your reckless decisions,” Atiku said.

The exchange places the October 1 transport-fare target at the centre of the continuing political debate over the impact of Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly the administration’s efforts to use compressed natural gas and electric vehicles to reduce public transportation costs.