Subsidy Removal: Taraba Civil Servants Sell Off Cars

Car sellers in Jalingo, Taraba state capital are running out of parking space as civil servants who cannot afford to maintain their vehicles since the removal of fuel subsidy are selling their cars.

Civil servants in the state are compelled to sell out their vehicles since the removal of the fuel subsidy which forced the price of the commodity to skyrocket over 100 percent.

Pump price of fuel in the state sells within the range of N550,00 to N570,00 while the state is among numerous states that are yet to implement the national N30,000 minimum wage.

Most of the Car stands visited by LEADERSHIP within Jalingo proved that 42 percent of vehicles brought in for sell in the last three weeks belongs to civil servants working with the state or local government council. “They are bringing cars massively” one of the car sellers revealed.

Aliyu Aba, a sales agent with Najib Motors, located at TSTC Junction along Jalingo Yola Highway and Nafiu Johnbosco an agent with Haske Motors, located at Roadblock Roundabout and Nathaniel Ibro, an agent with Muri Company located at Muri Hotel within Jalingo told our correspondent that they lack parking space as more customers were approaching them to pick their vehicles to sell on their stands.

They confirmed that most people selling their cars are civil servants particularly from the state.

“Those approaching us to sell their cars are mostly civil servants, they claim life is unbearable to them and the cost of fueling and maintaining the vehicles is not possible any longer.

“From our stand, we are not seeing buyers like before the removal of fuel subsidy, people are not ready to buy more vehicles, the cost of fuel has cushion extravagant use of cars, the market is not moving like before.

Titus Illiman, a civil servant with Taraba state ministry of information who also give out his car for sell said he could no longer drive the vehicle since the price of fuel skyrocketed to N550,00.

“I can not park my car and watch it damage without any income, is better I sell it, use the money to farm so that I can make profit to train my children in school, my monthly take home as a civil servant cannot fuel the car.”