In December 2023, SaharaReporters reported exclusively how buses were purchased by the Nigerian government to ease the transportation challenges of Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
President Bola Tinubu’s government has said the Presidential Initiative to deploy lower-cost CNG mass transit buses will ultimately lead to a reduction of transport costs by more than 50 percent.
The government said this in a press statement released by Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation on Sunday, urging the citizens to see the initiative as a relief brought by Tinubu's administration to ease the economic hardship caused by subsidy removal.
The statement reads: “Impactful interventions are being rolled out, including a Students’ Loan Scheme, a Presidential Initiative to deploy lower-cost CNG mass transit buses to provide alternatives to petrol and diesel, and various low-interest loan schemes for businesses.
“The CNG interventions will bring down the cost of transportation by more than 50 percent. We urge Nigerians to take advantage of these opportunities as they emerge, as they have been designed for the benefit of all.”
In December 2023, SaharaReporters reported exclusively how buses were purchased by the Nigerian government to ease the transportation challenges of Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
The buses were sighted by SaharaReporters at the Federal Secretariat car park in Abuja, with a group of panel beaters, technicians and painters battling to fix and rebrand them.
The panel beaters were seen carrying out body work on the buses while the painters painted the dented parts of the buses to give them a face-lift. Also, oil was seen dripping from the engines of some of the buses.
Findings by SaharaReporters revealed that the buses belonged to the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of a palliative programme designed to reduce the cost of transportation.
The minister’s statement also revealed that the government had produced the Nigerian National Values Charter (NVC), a documentation of the social contract between Government and the citizens, as one of the ways to restore a national sense of hope, trust and solidarity.
The statement continued: “In the opening weeks of 2024, our Stock Market has already put us on the global map for the impressive returns being delivered. The Indian businesses that pledged $14 billion in new investment in Nigeria on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India in September 2023 have since started making good on those pledges.
“Across oil and gas, agriculture, consumer goods, renewable energy, healthcare, ICT and many other fields we are seeing global and local businesses demonstrating unshakable belief in the limitless possibilities that Nigeria embodies.
“The heartwarming exploits of our beloved Super Eagles at the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire are another case in point; a timely reminder that the things that bind us together as one are much deeper than the things that separate and divide us.
“Let us never forget what is truly possible: that instead of division and hatred, we can live and thrive in unity and hope, assured that, despite the temporary challenges and setbacks that we face from time to time, a glorious dawn is just around the corner.”