July 31, (THEWILL) – Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has slashed the fares of state-owned buses by 50 per cent to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
Mr Sanwo-Olu announced this on Monday in a video shared via Twitter by his media aide, Jubril Gawat.
The bus fare reduction takes effect on Wednesday, August 2, 2023.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidies on 29 May, immediately after he assumed office. The decision saw the price of petrol jump three-fold across the country.
The move has caused hardship to many Nigerians and made transportation fares skyrocket.
“Immediately from Wednesday, all public transportation that are being controlled by LAMATA will be plying all the routes of Lagos at 50 per cent discount,” the governor said.
“And all commuters will start enjoying a 50 per cent rebate on the current transport fare currently being charged on all of these buses and it will start immediately on Wednesday.”
The governor explained that the reduction cannot take effect on Tuesday “because we need to do a lot of configuration and they need to do all of their validation so that that can happen from Wednesday. Decision has been taken and has been communicated with them.”
Mr Sanwo-Olu also announced a 25 percent reduction in Yellow buses fare, which he said will be announced officially by their body.
“For the informal buses, they are also going to make pronouncements today and we have also agreed with them that they will be doing 25 per cent deduction on their buses, all of the Yellow buses we have on the street,” he said.
“They will also make a formal announcement maybe later today, that will probably take effect maybe tomorrow or latest on Wednesday. They are also having their meeting as we speak right now.”
The governor also announced the expansion of the fleet of staff buses for the workers in the state public service to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
