Many commuters in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were on Tuesday stranded at various bus stops due to the sudden increase in transport fares.
The development came a few hours after the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL increased its pump price to N855 per litre.
Some of the commuters told NAN that the fares they paid while leaving their homes for work in the morning doubled in the afternoon, leaving them stranded.
The commuters, who expressed frustration at the development, called for immediate government intervention in the interest of poor Nigerians.
Miss Amina Yusuf, a clerk, said: “I paid N1,000 from my house in Gudu to Garki where I work, only to leave work now and realise the fare was almost doubled.
I was standing at the Phototech junction with several commuters who did not have enough money to board a vehicle until I saw a colleague who bailed me out.
Another commuter, Mr Kingsley Okoye, expressed his grievances, noting that the fare hikes had burdened his finances.
Okoye said: “I left the house with very little cash, which I assumed would get me to work, only to realise that the fares had increased.
Instead of N250 from Apo to Gudu, I was charged N400. I had to look for where to make a withdrawal and get more cash so I would not get stranded at work.
This situation is not fair at all. The government is not looking at the suffering of Nigerians; they are only concerned with their policies and regulations, which do not favour us.”
Mrs Jennifer Fabian said she used to spend N200 to get from Nyanya to the city centre until the pump price increased to N670 and the fare hiked to N600.
She said that with the sudden increase in fuel prices, the cost of transport increased further to N1, 200, which was very high compared to her income.
Fabians said: “this increase will definitely trickle down to affect virtually everything in the economy, especially the cost of food, which is already high.
President Bola Tinubu should do something about this because we Nigerians are suffering.
Since the day Tinubu removed subsidy, the economy has not remained the same. People are already losing their lives due to frustration, and it will worsen unless something is done urgently.”
Similarly, Mr Ahmed Musa, a trader at the Wuse Market, shared his frustration, saying, “I have to take two different buses just to get to the market every morning.
What used to cost me N300, now costs N600, which is just one way. With how things are going, I might have to consider closing my shop earlier than usual to save on transport costs.
The timing is terrible because schools are about to resume, and parents are struggling to pay school fees.
Now we will also worry about how the children will be transported to school and back every day. The government needs to look into this urgently,” Musa said.
