Hardship: Ogun Wants To Reduce Mass Burden By Building 100 CNG Buses

As part of efforts to lessen the consequences of the current socioeconomic issues, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun stated that his administration will make 100 brand-new, eighteen-seater Compressed Natural Gas buses available for use by transporters in the state.

During a meeting with transport unions in Abeokuta, the state capital, Abiodun revealed this information regarding the best ways to address the state’s rising transport fares, which have driven up the cost of necessities beyond the grasp of the general public.

However, he issued a warning to carriers not to take unfair advantage of the current circumstances, nor to exploit and impose unnecessary costs on the populace through exorbitant transit fares.

As per his statement, the reason for calling the meeting was the occurrences of the past week, which included the scarcity of fuel, which is gradually decreasing, and the corresponding rise in the product’s pump price.

The governor stated that anytime there is even the slightest change in the price of petrol at the pump, transportation costs usually skyrocket.

The federal administration, headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is aware of the effects of the most recent increase in the price of gas, and it is taking steps to mitigate those effects for the populace.

As a state government, our initial goals are to provide our transport unions with access to one hundred buses, namely eighty-seater buses. There will be one hundred brand-new CNG buses, and they will be name-brand vehicles rather than unknown vehicles. We are discussing Toyota Hiace buses that you will receive as part of a purchase contract.

You can pay for them in installments over a period of time once we make them available to you. We are convinced that if we lend you these buses, you would use them sensibly and make the necessary payments on schedule because of your demonstrated sincerity and dedication.

“The Presidential CNG initiative has launched the Federal Government’s Energy Transition Program, and I can assure you that the Presidency has affirmed that it will initially provide Ogun State with 20 CNG buses. Those busses are on their way to us within the next week.

Additionally, 500 CNG conversion kits are being made available to Ogun State so that cars can be converted to CNG-enabled right now.

“We will receive the first 500 conversion kits within the next five days, I have been promised. As you are aware, Ogun State is home to our conversion center. Being a significant conversion facility serving the Southwest, we will start the process of converting vehicles in line with our agreed-upon schedule for who gets to convert first and what vehicles we start with,” he stated.

While revealing that the Federal Government is gradually handing over the sales and distribution of petroleum products to the private sector, Governor Abiodun pointed out that since the price of PMS had only increased by 30%, there was no need for transporters to raise transport fares by more than 1000 percent.

“In the past, we’ve observed that our carriers automatically raise charges in response to changes in pump prices of up to 10% because it affects the cost of their operational equipment, which includes trucks, buses, motorbikes, and tricycles.

Our observations show that when the price of petroleum goods is changed by 10% to 20%, the impact we witness can occasionally be as high as 2000%. As such, we would like to have a conversation to make sure that individuals are not overextended.

He stated, “The price difference is about 25% or 30%, so we shouldn’t see a difference in transport fares that is more than 25% or 30% if pump prices have changed by like 25% to 30%.”

While reminding transporters that fuel is only one part of their transportation costs, Engr. Gbenga Dairo, Commissioner of Transportation, asked them to take all reasonable steps to guarantee that the state’s citizens are not overworked.

Abiodun Alamutu, the state’s commissioner of police, revealed that the PMS increase was insufficient to justify the striking rise in transportation costs and urged transporters in the state to consider the possibility of implementing a more lenient transport fare system.

The Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) National President, Prince Samsudeen Apelogun, spoke on behalf of the transport heads and praised Governor Abiodun for revolutionizing the transport sector with the creation of the Ministry of Transportation and the launch of the E-mobility program.

He committed to bringing the parties involved together to devise a more agreeable and controllable transportation fare.