The biting impact of rising petrol prices was visibly felt in Abuja on Tuesday morning as usually busy roads witnessed unusually light vehicular movement, while stranded commuters trekked and struggled to find affordable transportation following a sharp increase in transport fares.
The development came as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, slammed President Bola Tinubu over the soaring pump price of petrol, demanding an account of the savings generated from the removal of fuel subsidy.
Atiku questioned the rationale behind Nigerians paying as much as N1,470 per litre for petrol despite crude oil selling far below the $147 per barrel level recorded in 2008, when petrol sold for N65 per litre.
But while the political debate over fuel pricing continued, the human cost of the crisis was visible across the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, with commuters at several bus stops unable to afford the new fares and others resorting to trekking.
This correspondent observed unusually light traffic on several major routes into the city during the morning rush hour, a period normally characterised by heavy vehicular movement and long queues.
At Lugbe Car Wash and Police Signboard bus stops, large numbers of passengers were seen waiting for vehicles, with some abandoning their attempts to board after discovering that fares had risen beyond what they could afford.
Further into the city, commuters were also seen trekking along major routes, apparently to reduce their transportation expenses.
Interactions with some of the passengers indicated that transport fares on major routes had risen by about 50 per cent, placing additional pressure on households already struggling with rising food prices, rent, electricity bills and other essential expenses.
Some commuters said they had either postponed their journeys, waited for operators charging relatively lower fares or resorted to trekking.
The situation was replicated at other major bus stops along the routes into the city, where passengers crowded the roadside in search of affordable transportation.
However, in a striking contrast to the usual morning rush-hour experience, the City Gate axis and the bend linking Game Village and Area One were relatively free of traffic.
The two corridors are ordinarily notorious for heavy congestion during peak periods, but vehicular movement was noticeably lighter on Tuesday.
The unusual development appeared to be linked to the reduced number of vehicles on the roads as many commuters struggled to afford the increased fares.
The sight of relatively empty roads alongside stranded passengers and pedestrians offered a stark picture of the economic pressure confronting residents of the nation’s capital.
Transport operators have continued to attribute fare increases to the rising cost of petrol as well as higher expenses for vehicle maintenance, spare parts and other operating costs.
The severity of the situation was further reflected in reports of petrol selling at even higher prices in some parts of the country.
A caller to 95.1 Nigeria Info FM said he bought a litre of petrol for N1,800 in Kaduna on Monday evening, while a friend reportedly bought it for N2,000 at a filling station in a rural community in Southern Kaduna.
For commuters, however, the debate over international crude oil prices and subsidy policy has become increasingly personal, with transportation consuming a growing portion of their daily income.
The latest increase is also expected to have wider economic consequences, as higher transportation costs inevitably feed into the prices of food, farm produce and other goods.
It was against this backdrop that Atiku criticised the Tinubu administration and demanded greater transparency over the revenues and savings generated since the removal of the petrol subsidy.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku questioned why Nigerians were paying as much as N1,470 per litre for petrol when international crude oil prices remained significantly below the $147 per barrel level recorded in 2008.
Atiku recalled that despite crude oil reaching about $147 per barrel in 2008, petrol sold for N65 per litre under the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
He argued that the comparison raised fundamental questions about the impact of current government policies on ordinary Nigerians, particularly as the cost of transportation and basic commodities continues to rise.
The ADC presidential candidate demanded a full account of the revenues and savings generated since the removal of the subsidy, saying Nigerians had endured severe economic hardship on the assurance that the savings would be redirected into critical sectors such as education, healthcare and infrastructure.
He questioned why Nigerians should continue to bear the burden of subsidy removal without a clear and verifiable account of how the resulting savings and revenues had been utilised.
Atiku also demanded greater transparency in the management of Federation Account revenues, including an independent reconciliation of revenues collected, deductions made before distribution and the beneficiaries of such deductions.
He advocated an independent forensic examination of the country’s oil and Federation Account records, arguing that Nigerians should have access to the relevant records.
According to him, every barrel of crude oil produced and exported could be traced, and government revenues should therefore be subjected to proper public accountability.
Atiku further criticised what he described as the growing disconnect between petrol prices and the earning capacity of ordinary Nigerians, stressing that the effect of high petrol prices goes beyond motorists and vehicle owners.
“Petrol at N1,470 per litre is not merely a figure at the filling station. It enters the price of transportation, food, school runs, farming, manufacturing and virtually everything Nigerians buy,” he said.
He insisted that Nigerians had a right to know what had happened to the savings generated from the removal of the subsidy, arguing that government could not continue to demand sacrifices from citizens without providing adequate accountability on the management of public resources.
The development has also begun to feed into the wider political debate ahead of the 2027 general elections, with some Nigerians increasingly looking towards opposition figures who have spoken in favour of revisiting the subsidy policy.
Atiku has previously mulled the possibility of restoring petrol subsidy, while the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has also maintained that subsidy would be retained but managed more transparently and efficiently where necessary.
For some Nigerians, the debate is increasingly centred on which approach offers the quickest relief from the rising cost of living.
Some have expressed the view that another Tinubu administration would be “calamitous”, arguing that the hardship experienced under his first term has already pushed many households to the limit.
They contend that a government that could impose such painful economic measures in its first term could worsen the situation if returned to power.
The Tinubu administration, however, has consistently defended the removal of the subsidy, maintaining that the era of artificially cheap petrol was unsustainable and had imposed enormous pressure on the nation’s finances.
Government officials have repeatedly argued that the previous subsidy regime was an illusion that benefited a limited group while draining public resources, encouraging corruption and undermining the country’s economy.
The administration has therefore maintained that the difficult reforms are necessary to reposition the economy and create a more sustainable system in the long term.
The Presidency was yet to respond to Atiku’s latest demand as of the time of filing this report.
For the commuters stranded at Lugbe Car Wash, Police Signboard and other bus stops across Abuja on Tuesday morning, however, the issue went beyond the argument over subsidy, crude oil prices or government revenue.
It was about whether they could afford to get to work, school, markets and other destinations.
For some, the choice had become painfully simple: pay the new fare or trek.
The unusually free City Gate, Game Village and Area One corridors offered a telling contrast to the traffic situation ordinarily witnessed in Abuja during the morning rush hour.
Rather than signalling improved traffic management, the lighter traffic appeared to reflect the growing difficulty faced by some residents in putting vehicles on the roads or paying commercial transport fares.
As petrol prices continue to influence transportation costs, the pressure is increasingly spreading across households and businesses, raising fresh questions about how long ordinary Nigerians can continue to absorb rising costs while incomes struggle to keep pace.
On the streets of Abuja on Tuesday morning, that economic reality was difficult to miss: fewer vehicles, more pedestrians and commuters standing by the roadside, waiting for fares they could afford.
COURTESY: Independent
