Fuel Price Hike: Abiodun warns against fare exploitation, to release 100 CNG buses

 

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has warned transporters in the state against exploiting members of the public as a result of the recent hike in the prices of fuel.

He also announced that his administration would make available 100 brand new 18-seater Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses for the use of transporters in the state to cushion the effect of the hike.

The Governor, who made this known in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, in a meeting with transport unions on how to ensure fair transportation pricing in the state, also said that the Federal Government would make available 20 CNG-enabled buses and 500 conversion kits to the state government during the week.

Prince Abiodun also announced the inauguration of an enforcement committee, comprising the State Police Commissioner, his counterpart in the Department of State Security Service (DSS), the Traffic Compliance Agency (TRACE), and heads of transport unions, as well as representatives from the Ministries of Transportation and Trade and Investment.

He said that the meeting was called because of events over the last week, including fuel scarcity, which is already abating, and the associated increase in the pump price of the product.

Prince Abiodun noted that there has always been an astronomical rise in transport fares anytime there is a slight adjustment in the pump prices of fuel.

According to him, the federal government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not unmindful of the impact of the recent hike in the pump price, adding that the government is putting in place measures to lessen the impact on the people.

"The plans that we have as a state government, our plans are to, in the first instance, make 100 buses—100 18-seater buses—available to our transport unions. These will be 100 brand new CNG buses, and these buses will be brand buses, not no-name buses. We are talking about Toyota Hiace buses that we will give to you under a purchase agreement.

"We will make them available to you, and you can pay in installments over a period of time. You have demonstrated commitment and seriousness, and we are confident that when we give you these buses, you will utilize them responsibly and pay back on time.

"The Federal Government has also started an Energy Transition Program through the Presidential CNG initiative, and I can confirm to you that the Presidency has confirmed that they are making 20 buses available to Ogun State in the first instance—20 CNG buses. We will be getting those buses in the next week.

"They are also making 500 CNG conversion kits available to Ogun State for the immediate conversion of vehicles to CNG-enabled.

"I have been assured that the conversion kits, which is the first batch of 500, will reach us in the next five days. You know that we have a conversion center in Ogun State. We are a major conversion center for the Southwest, and we will begin the conversion of vehicles in accordance with how we agree in terms of scheduling who will come first and what vehicles we will begin to convert," he said.

Governor Abiodun, while disclosing that the Federal Government is gradually leaving the business of sales and distribution of petroleum products to the private sector, noted that there was no need for transporters to increase transport fares by over 1000% when the price of PMS was just increased by 30%.

"We've seen in the past that when there is a change in pump prices by maybe 10%, we have noticed that our transporters also naturally increase fares because the cost of their operational equipment—be it motorcycles, tricycles, trucks, or buses—is impacted.

"What we've noticed is that when there is a change in the pricing of petroleum products by 10% to 20%, the impact that we see play out at times is like 2000%, and we want to dialogue to ensure the people are not stretched.

"The change in price is about 25% or 30%, so if pump prices have changed by like 25% to 30%, we should not see a difference in transport fares that is more than 25% or 30%," he said.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Engr. Gbenga Dairo, while reminding transporters that fuel is just a component of their transportation cost, urged them to do all within their power to ensure that the people of the state are not over-stretched.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Abiodun Alamutu, on his part, disclosed that the increase in PMS isn't such that should warrant the remarkable increase in the cost of transportation and called on transporters in the state to look at the possibility of having a more friendly transport fare regime.

Speaking on behalf of the transport heads, the National President of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), Prince Samsudeen Apelogun, commended Governor Abiodun for revolutionizing the transport sector with the establishment of the Ministry of Transportation and the introduction of the E-mobility programme.

He promised to call the stakeholders together and come up with a more friendly transport fare that is within their control.