Former governor of Anambra state and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has criticized the way the 50% fare reduction intervention announced by the Presidency on Wednesday is being implemented.
Obi made the submission in a series of tweets on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
Recall that Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals, announced that President Tinubu had approved a 50% reduction in transport fares for interstate travels and free commuter rides on all rail lines from December 20, 2023, to January 4, 2024.
Obi disclosed that in order to determine how well the intervention program was being implemented nationwide, he dispatched representatives to consult with transporters at major parks throughout the country.
However, he observed that the results of the on-site investigations conducted by his representatives at selected parks in Abuja, Lagos, Onitsha, Kano, Kaduna, Owerri, Aba, and Gombe indicated that transporters at these parks were unaware of the 50% discount.
He said: “Today, I sent out contacts who consulted widely with the transporters in major parks across the country: in Abuja, they carried out the on-the-spot investigation in Jabi/Utako areas; in Lagos, they visited major parks like Jibowu, Festac, Mile 12, Ajah, and Mazamaza and none of the transporters in these parks was aware of this 50% discount.
“At Upper Iweka, Onitsha, which is the main traffic hub in Anambra, and in other parts of the country like Kano, Aba, Kaduna, Owerri, and Gombe, the story is the same.”
Peter Obi also pointed out that the Federal Government had not revealed any measures of checks and balances to guarantee that the five transportation companies chosen to engage in the intervention abided by the contract’s conditions.
“There are obvious questions on the integrity of this intervention effort. One expects that such a policy that strives to appeal to the broad masses, especially the downtrodden, deliberate and concrete arrangements should be made with transport companies,” Obi added.
While noting the government’s compassion as a positive, Obi highlighted that the government’s inadequate structure allowed less-than-transparent policy execution.
