Some residents of Ibadan have described the sudden increase in transport fares, following the announcement of a new petroleum pump price by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as unbearable.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that NNPC announced a new pump price effective Tuesday.
The residents told NAN in separate interviews in Ibadan on Wednesday that the hardship brought about by the recent increase was sudden and agonising.
An accountant with a private organisation, Mr Sola Famakinwa, said he spent more than N3,000 for a N1,500 trip from his house to his office.
“Before I used to board Mokola from Apata for N500, but now it is N800; Mokola to Gate has also increased from N150 to N300.
“It is worse if you take a commercial motorcycle (Okada). You will eventually spend so much more than you can imagine on a day’s journey.
“Things have to change for people to be able to cope with this present situation,” Famakinwa said.
A businessman, Mr Yinka Olumayowa, said he had spent so much on fuel that he was left with little to feed on despite cutting down on things to do and where to go.
Olumayowa stated that the NNPC increment came at a bad time and would aggravate the already worsened economic situation the country was grappling with.
“What will happen when schools resume? I just wonder how people will cope.
“I parked my car to reduce my fuel consumption, and I took public transport to places I went earlier, but it is still not pocket-friendly.
“From Dugbe to Oke-Ado, I spent N200 on transport fare when it used to be N50, and then N100 when the price of fuel initially increased,” he said.
A mechanic, Mr Lekan Alao, says that apart from the high cost of moving from one place to another, the cost of motor spare parts has also increased.
“I went to get a new engine for Hyundai Santa for a car I am repairing, but the cost has moved from N600,000 to N950,000 overnight,” Alao said.
An architect, Mr Rotimi Omoniyi, said he had cut down on places he would ordinarily visit per day to manage the fuel in his car.
According to him, it is sad that there was no prior notification to Nigerians before the increment was effected.
“Our government usually talks about the rule of law and adherence to procedures, but when it comes to increasing the pump price of fuel that is jettisoned.
“There is nothing much to say, but the sudden increment without social interventions for Nigerians is not okay,” Omoniyi said.
A commercial motorist, Mr Kunle Olawale, said motorists queued at different filling stations looking for fuel despite the cutthroat price.
“It is one thing to have the fuel available despite the increase in the pump price, but people are still going through difficulties to get the commodity, this is a double tragedy,” Olawale said.
