Commuters in Jigawa State have expressed frustration over the failure of transport fares to decrease as expected following President Bola Tinubu's promise. The promise was that Nigerians would begin to benefit from reduced transportation costs through the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative from October 1. However, passengers traveling from Dutse, the state capital, said transport fares remained unchanged.
At Dutse Central Motor Park and Shuwarin Motor Park, commuters who spoke with a correspondent said there was no noticeable difference between CNG-powered vehicles and those still operating on conventional fuel. A passenger traveling from Dutse to Kano, Nura Sani, said he was still paying the same fare despite expecting a reduction. "They told us fares would come down by October 1. I am paying N3,500 to Kano today, just like last week," he said.
Another commuter, Abba Garba, who was traveling to Hadejia, said fares on the route had also remained unchanged. "The fare to Hadejia is still N5,000. We were expecting it to drop, but we have not seen any reduction. Everything is still the same," he said. The commuters' concerns highlight the gap between the government's promises and the actual implementation of the CNG initiative.
The Jigawa State Government has yet to publicly clarify the extent of its implementation of the CNG initiative, including the number of vehicles converted in the state and the level of government investment in the program. Efforts to obtain the government's position proved unsuccessful, with the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Gambo S. Malam, not responding to calls or text messages.
However, the Jigawa State Chairman of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Bello Usman Dunari, said about 100 vehicles belonging to members of the association had benefited from government-supported CNG conversion. "About 100 of our vehicles were helped and converted to CNG courtesy of the government's initiative. The intention is to reduce transportation fares for the people," Dunari said.
A commercial driver operating on the Dutse-Bauchi-Jos routes, Sahabi Imam Disina, disputed the claim that transport operators had benefited from the government's intervention. Disina said drivers operating on his routes were not aware of any government assistance or CNG conversion program that had benefited them. He added that, as of Friday, the impact of the initiative had yet to reflect in their earnings or translate into lower fares for passengers.
The unchanged fares have raised questions among commuters and transport operators about the implementation of the CNG initiative in Jigawa State and when its expected benefits would begin to reach the traveling public. The concerns of the commuters and transport operators highlight the need for the government to provide clarity on the implementation of the CNG initiative and its expected benefits.
Key points
- The CNG initiative aims to reduce transportation costs for Nigerians.
- Commuters in Jigawa State have not noticed any reduction in transport fares despite the government's promise.
- The Jigawa State Government has not provided clarity on the implementation of the CNG initiative.
