Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried increased transport fares, which have limited their movement around the city centre.
Some of the residents who spoke to newsmen, said that one of the greatest challenges they encountered was the non-availability of fuel despite its increased cost. According to them, fuel is not readily available at many filling stations, leading to artificial scarcity and panic, thus increasing the cost of transportation.
They reiterated their appeal to the Federal Government and other authorities to urgently intervene, sayibg Nigerians were suffering and desperate.
According to a nurse, Godson Edache, the sharp rise in the cost of necessities was biting hard on residents, and this could only be checked by reducing transportation fares. He said, “Transportation is crucial as it affects virtually everything/sector in the country. So it is not surprising that the costs of goods and services have skyrocketed. Every day, I struggle to afford transportation to and from work because the cost of transportation keeps changing every day”.
On his part, a desk officer, Gabriel Ojo, said he had stopped using his car due to the high fuel cost and expressed concern over the non-availability of the product at fuel stations, while a student, Agnes Goja, said trekking to school had become the order of the day for her because her aunt, who she lived with, could not afford to give her transportation fares.
Also, a trader, Abiba Sule, said she used to operate a mobile business that entailed moving from one ministry to another to sell her goods, but she could no longer do it. “The situation is really bad. The government needs to come to our aid and improve our economy before all of us will die of hunger and poverty in that country”, she lamented.
Meanwhile, Festus Azubuike, a teacher who decried the country’s high cost of living, praised Nigerians’ doggedness and survival mechanism. “No matter the situation, we always find a way around it and try to get by. We can adjust to whatever situation we find ourselves in”, he said.
A civil servant, Rebecca Solomon, appealed to the Federal Government to redeem its promise of providing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses for commuters. According to her, these vehicles, when operational, will greatly help ameliorate the high cost of transportation, which is affecting all sectors.
“We have been waiting and hoping for the buses promised to us (residents) by the Federal Government, but we have yet to see the buses. We need God’s intervention to pull through, because the situation of things is not getting any better. Many people are suffering and dying”, she stated.
