To reduce the impact of fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government on their citizens, the governments of three states have started taking measures to alleviate the issue of hike in transportation occasioned by the policy.
The governments of Adamawa and Borno which operate their own transport companies, have continued to ensure that their fares remain lower than other commercial transport companies.
In Adamawa, the state government had constituted a special committee on mitigating the effects of subsidy removal headed by Dr. Amos Edgar, the Chief of Staff to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.
According to Edgar, Adamawa Government has planned to purchase shuttle buses for workers and inter-local government transportation at a subsidized rate, while in Borno, Governor Babagana Zulum had approved the release of 50 buses to address the situation.
Mallam Isa Gusau, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, said the buses will be added to the fleet of the state-owned transport outfit, Borno Express Corporation.
Gusau said that 30 vans were also provided to provide farmers, particularly those residing inside Maiduguri, free rides to the outskirts of the state capital where their farmlands are located.
A University of Maiduguri student, Mustapha Abdullahi, who lauded the government for the intervention said, “I patronize Borno Express buses every day, paying N50 from the Post Office to the University of Maiduguri as against N150 being collected by taxis and tricycles”.
