Nigerian government unveils plan to cut cost of transportation by over 50%

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to cut the current cost of transportation by more than 50 per cent as inflation continues to drive up prices of transportation, goods and services across the West African nation.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said this when he received the National Executive Committee of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, at his office on Thursday.

He said the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration is working hard to reduce the amount paid by Nigerians on transportation by half with the eventual introduction of vehicles using compressed natural gas (CNG)

He pointed out that the price of petrol is expected to go up due to the removal of subsidy, hence transportation. When achieved, the minister noted that the CNG Initiative would drastically bring down the cost of moving from one place to another.

“In the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy, of course, it was expected that the price of PMS would go up. This will in turn affect the transportation costs for Nigerians going to and fro their various places of work,” he said.

“The Federal Government immediately thought it wise, in addition to other measures, to introduce the CNG. The CNG is expected to bring down the cost of transportation by more than 50 per cent and I am happy that IPMAN is in the forefront in this vanguard of achieving the CNG Initiative,” he said.

He recalled that the Federal Government has allocated 100 billion naira for the purchase of CNG buses and the establishment of CNG centres across Nigeria.

“You would recall that the Federal Government, in the first instance, set aside N100 billion for the purchase of CNG buses and the establishment of CNG centres around the country,” he said.

Prices of food, fuel, transportation and telecommunication increased to new record levels as Nigeria’s inflation rate passed 28 per cent in recent times.

This rising inflation has taken a heavy toll on the socio-economic activities of the nation despite the ongoing transformation by the new president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.