Following the announcement by the Federal Government on Wednesday that President Bola Tinubu had approved a 50% discount on road transport fares and free train rides from Thursday, December 21, 2023 to January 4, 2024, to ease transportation costs during the Yuletide season, not a few Nigerians have been asking about the modalities of the gesture.
Recall that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, disclosed to State House correspondents on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the presidential intervention aimed to allow Nigerians to travel to visit loved ones over 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,” the Minister had said.
Starting Thursday, he said Nigerians can board inter-state buses and minibuses for half the normal fares.
He said rail transportation will also be free for travellers departing Abuja, Lagos, Kano and other major transportation hubs.
However, taking to his X handle afterwards, a presidential media aide, Tope Ajayi, provided some insights about the intervention.
Ajayi wrote: “Minister of Transportation will announce the 22 routes later in the day as arrangements have been concluded with private transportation companies with high capacity luxury buses and various road transport unions.
“The Federal Government will pay the transport owners and companies 50% of their fare per route while commuters will pay half. For the rail transport which is under the total control of the Federal government – Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe – it will be free of cost for the period.”
Now that the picture is getting clearer, Nigerians can’t wait to hear from the Ministry of Transportation and its Minister in charge to dish out the details of the unprecedented intervention so that the journey could start in earnest. Whether it’s ‘Christmas in the city’ or in the village, the presidential gesture will definitely go a long way to ease the financial burden on the populace.
