Transport fare shoot up for Nigeria afta fuel price increase

Transporters for Nigeria don raise dia price afta goment increase di pump price of fuel.

On Tuesday, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd review di price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N617 per litres to 855 and 897 naira ($0.56) depending on your location.

Even wit dis increase many filling stations across di kontri no get di product to sell, while di ones wey get dey sell at higher prices.

For Lagos, di kontri commercial centre long queues dey for bus stations as few buses dey for road. Many pipo dey complain about di transport fare.

Paul Eniola Adewusi tell BBC Pidgin say ''right now I just spend N3500 to Victoria Island from Mowe''.

''Lakowe to law school for Victoria Island I pay N2000''. Idenyi tok.

And Mmirimara Ugo say ''my normal fare na N800 but I spend N1900 only yesterday, Eyes dey turn me.''

Di high demand and increase in pump price na im dey cause dis recent surge in transport fares.

'I go spend more dan 60% of my salary for transport alone'

Blessing Adem dey work as front desk officer for one NGO for Abuja, but she dey live for Ado, one community for Nasarawa State, about 35 minute-drive from di Central Business District of di FCT wia her office dey.

Wit dis new fuel price, e go cost her 52,000 naira ($32.39) evri month just on transport to her work place and back, and dis na more dan 60 percent of her monthly pay.

“Dis morning, okada from my house to di junction na 300 naira, somtin wey be 100 naira or 150 naira bifor. Den from my junction to NNPC Towers na 1000 naira. So I don spend 1,300 naira to come to work now and na di same thing to go back. I neva chop o, only transport go cost me 2,300 naira go and come, and I must come to work evri day, you check am na. How much be my salary?” she tok.

Checks by BBC Pidgin show say transport fare from Nyanya, di satellite town bordering di FCT and Nasarawa State, to di Abuja city centre wia majority of di goment office dey, na betwen 800 and 1000 naira. Bifor, na around 400 to 500 naira even wit di former fuel price.

Also interstate travel, like from Abuja to Onitsha, Anambra State for di eastern region of di kontri don climb by 2,500 naira, from 20,000 on Tuesday to 22,500 naira on Wednesday. Dis na for smaller transport companies, but bigger companies dey charge 32,000 naira for di same trip.

Abuja to Lagos now dey betwin 30,000 to 43,000 naira, depending on di transport company. Bifor now, di price na around 25,000 to 40,000 naira.

Private car owners no dey left out for di complain about fuel price hike, becos normal salon car like a Toyota Corolla, wey get 55 liters fuel tank, go now take about 50,000 naira to fill am wit fuel at di price of 897 naira wey NNPC dey sell.

Zarumi Ciroma, one car owner wey BBC Pidgin tori pesin meet for one NNPC fuel station on Wednesday, tok say im no get any choice but to buy am like dat bicos e get important journey to go to Gusau, Zamfara State.

As Ciroma dey watch di fuel pump meter dey read up to 51,000 naira to full im Honda Accord car, e just dey shake head in sadness as e reember di days when less dan 12,000 naira fuel dey full im tank, dat na bifor President Tinubu remove fuel subsidy for May last year.

Dat time, a litre of fuel na around 187 to 195 naira. Na just over one year since goment stop fuel subsidy, but to many Nigerians, e feel like many years ago sake of how hard tins don be for di kontri since dat time.

Di Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday demand for immediate reversal of di hike in fuel price wey NNPC just announce.

NLC say di hike go worsen di pain of Nigerians.

For inside statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero, accuse di Federal Goment of betraying labour movement.

Ajaero say, “We demand di immediate reversal of di latest increase for pump of PMS across di kontri, release of all those wey una custody or … on top accuse say dem take part for di recent protests.

“Stop di indiscriminate arrest and detention of citizens on trumped up charges, reverse di 250% tariff hike in electricity, stop to di hijack of di duties of di Ministry of Labour and Employment.

“End policies wey cause hunger and insecurity, Halt to goment culture of terror, fear and lying. We dey guided by our belief for our kontri and di need to secure and sustain its sovereignty, integrity and welfare of di pipo.”

Why long queues show face again for fuel stations in Nigeria

Di chairman of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) don tok bifor say fuel go begin dey available for filling stations.

Tayo Adeyeji tell BBC say NNPC don solve di delay wey bin no allow dem discharge fuel for some of di vessels wey import di product.

Dis na afta long long queues bin show for some filling stations while many odas lock dia gates due to say fuel no dey available for states like Lagos, Kaduna and Rivers, and later, e begin spread to oda sates like Ogun and Nigeria.

NNPC bin assure independent marketers say dem go soon fit get supply, but di Public Relations Officer for Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Uche Ukadike say dem no get hope of getting fuel as dem no fit get access to NNPC portal wia dem dey place order for dia products.

“NNPC close dia portal sake of di challenge wey dem bin get wit wia to park di ship wey carry fuel,” im tok.

According to di kontri independent marketers, right now, Nigeria no get any inland storage or reserve at all and dis lack of backup storage follow make di scarcity worse.

Nigeria Fuel Subsidy history

Nigeria goment introduce fuel subsidy for 1970s to help reduce di price of petroleum products for kontri pipo.

Even wit all di oil wey di kontri get, none of di four state owned refineries dey work.

Becos di refineries no dey work, di kontri dey import refined petroleum products wey dem dey sell for price wey goment fix.

Last year, President Bola Tinubu stop fuel subsidy say Nigeria no fit do am again sake of low revenue.

Since dat announcement last year wey di Nigerian leader make for im inauguration speech fuel price don jump from 185 naira to 855 naira now depending on your location.

Despite di end of subsidy, goment confam say dem dey pay some kain money but dem say no be 'subsidy'.

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