…Says he sees sinister plot to undermine Nigeria’s judiciary, democracy

Calls on Nigerians to be vigilant, puts international community on alert

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of standing in the way of justice by making catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to his whims.

Atiku, in a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, and made available to newsmen, said that “these and reports in the media about some heinous plots to harass justices sitting on the petition are ominous to peace and the security of our nation.”

The PDP candidate is contesting the result of the 2023 presidential election, which declared Tinubu winner, at the tribunal.

Atiku said: “Our democracy gives the people of Nigeria the powers to choose their leaders, and our laws demand that our judiciary must be allowed to act independently without harassment and intimidation by the government or powerful interests.

“To compromise the workings of our democracy and seeking to compromise the workings of our judiciary is an open call for anarchy.

“As a party in the litigation that is currently reviewing the outcome of the last presidential election, we wish to express our intentions to do all that is within the law in resisting any attempt to undermine our fragile democracy.”

He, therefore, called on the international community to be alerted.

He insisted that Nigeria’s democracy should not be undermined by using the judiciary to serve the interest of the ruling party.

“Sadly, this has become the stock in trade of the All Progressives Congress to intimidate the judiciary.

“Recall that in 2019, the APC-led Federal Government similarly removed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, when it was obvious that he would not bend to their will.

“The Department of State Services similarly stormed the homes of judges in 2016 and 2017, all in a bid to beat the judiciary into submission.

“The plot of the APC is simple: intimidate the judiciary, threaten judges with arrest so that they will bow to their will. This is a playbook from 2019 when they removed the CJN and then replaced him with Tanko Muhammad, who himself was later accused of corruption by his colleagues at the Supreme Court and resigned shamefully.

“However, the APC government never went after Tanko Muhammad as they did in Onnoghen’s case because it was never about corruption but election. The APC has, over the years, built a reputation of judiciary intimidation. They accused about 10 judges of corruption, stormed their homes, and got them suspended and yet could not convict a single one of them. Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court could not recover from the embarrassment that he ended up dying in office.

“Now, they have initiated a new plot. This time around, they want to intimidate the judges into delivering favourable judgments for them at the election tribunal. We draw the attention of the international community and, indeed, Nigerians to this fresh plot to steal the mandate of over 200 million people,” Atiku said.

He also urged Nigerians to abide by the golden rule of eternal vigilance being the price of liberty.

Similarly, he appealed “to all security agencies in the country to remain professional in the discharge of their duties and resist being used as an instrument of oppression and intimidation against the judiciary.”

Victor Osimhen has made a new demand to Napoli over the terms of his new contract with the club.

According to Sky Italia via The Mirror, the Super Eagles forward has demanded that a 120 million euros (approximately N105.8 billion in Nigerian currency) release clause be inserted into his new contract which is different from Napoli’s proposition.

According to the report, the Italian champions intend on inserting 200 million euros into the new deal which would make the striker become one of the most expensive footballers of all time by the time he leaves the club.

Besides the release clause which is one of the reasons a new deal has not been agreed between the Nigerian striker and the Italian giants, there is also disagreement regarding his salary.

As earlier reported, the Partenopei had offered a 7 million euros per year salary which has been deemed insufficient by Osimhen.

The existing contract of the Super Eagles forward expires in 2025 but Napoli don’t want to throw caution to the wind which explains why they want the contract extended.

While parties still have their differences over the terms of the new deal, there is optimism that an agreement will finally be reached.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aishat Dahiru Binani, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of frustrating her petition against the declaration of Adamu Fintri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the poll.

Binani alleged that the electoral body in utter display of bias and disregard to order of court is presently making desperate efforts to arrest and detain the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari as a ploy to prevent him from testifying for her at the ongoing Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

Speaking on her behalf at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the APC Returning Officer at the March 18 Governorship Election and the re-run of April 15, Alhaji Mustapha Umar Madawaki appealed to well meaning Nigerians to call INEC to order to allow the APC candidate reclaim her mandate obtained from the poll.

Madawaki who alleged that the electoral body was in conspiracy with the state government and anti-Binani forces to thwart the diligent prosecution of the petition claimed that INEC wanted the suspended REC apprehended and kept out of circulation to make him unavailable as witness for the governorship candidate.

Tracing the genesis of the election crisis and the resulting petition, the APC Returning Officer alleged that at the point of collation of results, INEC suddenly allowed its trained add- hoc workers changed and unlawfully and mysteriously substituted by another group of untrained staff that were not meant for collation.

The result of the unlawful change of add- hoc workers, he said, was the production of different election results from the one submitted by the authentic workers.

Alleging that an agent of the state government submitted an unlawful ad-hoc staff list, the Returning Officer explained that the fact that INEC accepted the list and used it was a clear evidence and proof that it was biased in favour of the People’s Democratic Party PDP.

“To my mind, that is a major reason why INEC is working overtime, trying to prevent the former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari from testifying before the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

“They are afraid of the revelations he would make. Their desperation is so brazen that Justice A.O Manji was forced to openly question INEC lawyer on why they are in a hurry to get Hudu Yunusa Ari arrested while there is a clear court order against that.

“To my mind also, that is the same reason that the Force Headquarters under the former Inspector General of Police IGP shot itself in the foot when it doctored the earlier investigative report into the Adamawa elections that found no indictable offence against Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari to another one they could use to quickly arrest and incarcerate him.

“We have both the original investigative report and the doctored one at our disposal. We are aware that these are serious charges and have therefore, refrained from elaborating further on some of the matters because they are before the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal”

Madawaki who described Senator Binani as a victim of gender discrimination in her governorship ambition said that Embassies and Diplomatic Missions would be carried along in the battle to regain the alleged stolen mandate of the governorship candidate.

‘Why Tinubu dumped gradual subsidy removal’

Peter Esele is a former President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). With his vast knowledge of the oil industry, Esele speaks on the increases in the price of petrol occasioned by subsidy removal.

From about N149 petrol at the time President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, a day he declared that “subsidy is over”, the price of the product has moved to over N500, before jumping to around N617 last week.

What can you tell us about the way the removal of fuel subsidy and petrol price increase is panning out in the country?

What we have is that marketers are making a kill. They don’t buy fuel from the depot every day. So if they still have the old stock and they are selling at the new price, what we are experiencing is that they have decided to maximize profit. In the other states where they sell at the former price, in a deregulated market, the only thing that matters is the morality of the owner of the retail outlet.

So, if the man has the moral that he bought at X price and decided to stick to it until the product is completely exhausted. So, it is strictly a question of morality. There are people who will go out there and say “This is a window, let me make so much money out of this window”.

The other aspect is that the last time we spoke, I told you we were going to pay higher for fuel in July. The reason for this is that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, normally does between 60 and 90 days’ stock.

It is expected that the stock they got is different from the previous ones they got which was less than N550 to the dollar.

NNPC can get the dollars at N463 but if I am to look at what the others may get, it is about N550 three months ago, that was where NNPC was. Where is NNPC now? If they are to import, they could get dollars at N463 before the advent of this administration.

So now, if NNPC is importing at about N750, they cannot sell at the former price. These are where the changes would come about. Again, you also know that the international price of crude has also gone up and you have a falling naira.

It is like a double warning. These are our new challenges, new reality; new normal. So, the price of petrol may just be N617 in Abuja, N568 in Lagos, but what we are going to have is that this price may likely maintain itself for another 30 to 45 days, except we have new increases in crude oil prices. That is the challenge we may have to face.

Naira value has of late been falling, meaning that this price will keep going up. Is that correct?

Yes. You are going to have the price going up but the way you put it is frightening. It may not be as frightening as that.

But that’s the reality?

There are two things we need to do. Our excess liquidity is quite low. What we are going to do is for the country to take advantage of the current price increase of crude oil. Unfortunately, we are about 500, 000 to 600, 000 barrels short of our daily production quota as fixed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC. That in itself is over $60 million daily that we are losing. That’s one of the challenges.

The second one is that we have pressure on FX because there are no local refineries. I was thinking that before this time, we would be getting at least 30% (petrol) from Dangote Refinery before they go full stream but I don’t know what is happening there anymore and I had a meeting with PENGASSAN two weeks ago where we tabled these challenges.

The road ahead is going to be bumpy and tough but government needs to do something that will mitigate these challenges in this honey period before the honey disappears.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has always agitated that government must put certain things in place before removing oil subsidy. Do you think those conditions had been met?
No. Those conditions have not been met. It is not just in this tenure because we have a government that is barely two months old and one of the things the NLC has always been saying is “fix our local refineries so we don’t have pressure on FX”.

If you are getting your products, what you are having now is huge pressure on FX and, by September, we are going to have about 20, or a minimum of 10 more companies to help bring in this product. So, we are going to have more pressure on FX. If you don’t have local refineries, and pressure mounts on FX, importers of the product may not get dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and would have to go to the parallel market so as to remain in business.

And going to the parallel market will further devalue the naira because one thing about economics is not about perception. If everybody is worried as we are, right now, no matter what you do, the perception is that we are sinking. So, what we need to do NLC has talked about. Just imagine that from the government of Obasanjo till date, we are always talking about refineries not working. Former President Buhari promised to build two refineries; this was not done throughout his eight years. What I want everybody to do is to go beyond the salary increase.

Do you really say marketers are making a kill when they are not sure of the price they are going to buy when next they go to the depot?

I didn’t generalize. I said some of the marketers. If you still have a product in-house, why increase the price? If I buy a product at N40 and sell at N50 and, suddenly, where I go to buy it, the price has increased to N60, does that mean that I‘ll start selling at N60? No, because the last time I bought it I bought it at N40 and sold it at N50. So, why don’t I stick to N50? That is why I said that it is an issue of morality. I am not putting them all in one basket because I know that some stick to their price due to their morality while others are taking advantage out of fear of what might happen tomorrow.

Some argue that the fuel subsidy removal could have been done better. What is your take?

Well, they say this could have been done better but when you are outside, there is certain information that you are not aware of until you become the President. So, the President has to look at the finances of the country. Again, irrespective of what the presidential candidates were saying, the three major political parties all agreed that they were going to remove fuel subsidies. The process of doing it was difference.

I was an advocate of gradual subsidy removal but what I learnt from this administration is that, even if you want to take away 25%, how do we know what we are paying? This is the first time I know the actual amount of fuel we consume daily. Right now, we are consuming 46.6 million litres of petrol per day. Before this, it was 70 million litres. So, if they had done 25%, we would never have had these figures and the government would have reduced subsidy for two months and the whole thing would balloon again and we go back to square one.

That was the information I got from the players in this administration on why they had to do what they are doing. Then, on whether this would have been done long ago when you talk about what happened during former President Jonathan’s administration, opposition parties are there to take power. The first thing you have to do is to find out if what you are opposing will give you power. That is what opposition parties are all about. They are interested in how to get power. As citizens, we also have to look at what is in our own best interest.

What is happening across the country now is that those struggling to survive are spending about 70% of their earnings on transportation. Recently, the total amount that was shared as allocations from the Federation Account was about N799 billion. Most people ask how the money is going to be used. It is not the responsibility of the Federal Government to provide buses in states; it is the responsibility of the state government. The Federal Government can say “Contribute 50%”.

That is what is supposed to be done in the federal system of government that we are running. The Federal Government cannot provide buses for any state but can guarantee a manufacturer to produce buses for it to buy and distribute to states.

We are being told that the price of fuel could come up or go down. Could that be a political statement?

No. It is not a political statement. It is going to come down, that’s the law of supply and demand. You also know that crude is a commodity and every commodity has booms and bursts, they are all cyclical. What triggered this was that Saudi Arabia withdrew millions of barrels from the market has also cut production.

Meanwhile, we are not even able to meet our production quota. If we have all that in place and we have enough dollars, that will ease the liquidity squeeze that is currently going on. So, let’s assume we go into winter when crude prices fluctuate. That will definitely come, just as we have it in the stock market. What goes up must surely come down. So, it is not a political statement.

The price will rise due to fundamentals such as the falling naira, and inability to access FX. Presently, there are two windows that are merging. The Federal Government wants to have convergence. Those who get dollars at the parallel market may not even be able to sell at N640.

Those are the factors we must look at but I am optimistic that these prices will go down but government needs to create a way to enable Nigerians to breathe so that when it starts running, they will be alive to enjoy it.

What is the cause of the delay in Dangote entering the market? Is he watching the market? Since he is producing and not importing, is it likely that prices will come down or at least stabilize?

Now, the market is very good for Dangote’s entry but I think Dangote is in the best position to answer that question because, by his own projection, he said July, so let us hope that before the month runs out, we see fuel coming out from Dangote Refinery.

In terms of whether he is watching the market, I think the market is ripe for everybody to come in because, for the past two months, the government has shown that they are not intervening. The government is going to allow market forces to take control. So, I think it is very good for players to come in now.

We understand that Nigeria gets less valuable on the crude we export. What’s your take?

That is true but it has to do with the capacity of our leaders. You see, for the past two months, Nigeria has been making new mistakes and that is good. It’s when you keep repeating old mistakes that you are not growing.

New mistakes are evidence of growth. On the question of gas, Nigeria is actually a gas country. Our gas reserves at the moment are over $3trillion. So, if we allow private investors to come in, it’s going to benefit government and the people. A Nigerian company is currently investing $ 5 billion in gas and once the market is available, it will be easier to for us to move on. The other aspect is refinery.

Our refineries need to work for our national security interest and for us to export and earn dollars. If we are able to get our mix right, I am optimistic that things will improve but government needs to do something in the interim to cushion the effects of the removal.

Do you think Nigerians really understand this deregulation we are talking about and do you think government has explained that well enough?

I think the government has to do more in terms of communicating with the people. When the news of the new fuel price was broken, people were really angry. I spoke with someone in Abuja who said he bought a litre at N500 while another person said he bought his at N615, just 45 minutes after. What government should do is communicate this to Nigerians and let them know that the prices are up. The shock we are experiencing is a new reality that we are in, no change is ever easy, not to talk of this difficult one.

So, in Nigeria, the media are all going to talk to Nigerians, letting them know that they will pay less when prices go down, just as it is in the case of gas. I also hope that marketers will reduce their prices once they go down. The government needs to do more in effective communication. Let people be aware. Again, the government needs to hit the ground running now by looking for intervention measures to carry out. If the government doesn’t do that, the prices of crude are still going to be higher due to the OPEC cut.

The escalating costs of living occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the subsequent rise in the pump price of petrol, and rising inflation have forced different categories of Nigerians to make adjustments to the way they live.

These are not the best of times in the road transport sector as commuters are now cutting down on interstate travels except for those that are absolutely necessary and essential, while commercial motorists who ply interstate roads have been recording low patronage and as a consequence are scaling down the number of trips they make and taking other measures, including to combine passengers going to different destinations along the same route.

Sunday PUNCH investigations revealed decreasing passenger traffic at popular bus terminals and motor parks in different cities across the country, while vehicles that usually get full within an hour now take over four hours in some cases.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol during his inauguration on May 29, 2023 and this was followed by a jump in the pump price of the commodity from N185 per litre to N500.

As Nigerians were battling with the effects of the subsidy removal and awaiting the palliatives promised by the Federal Government to alleviate their suffering, a new price regime kicked off on Tuesday and resulted in petrol selling for between N586 and N630 per litre.

Many transport operators, who spoke to our correspondents, said they had to raise the fares to reflect the new economic realities, as their services were solely dependent on petrol.

On Monday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited published a new price list which pegged petrol at between N586 and N630/litre.

This new price, according to the Group Chief Executive of the NNPCL, Mr Mele Kyari, is because of some market forces, including the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira, among other factors.

The country’s annual inflation rate rose to 22.41 per cent in May from 22.22 per cent in the previous month, almost matching an 18-year high, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The transport sector has been the worst hit by the fuel price increase as fares for interstate travels have increased by up to 250 and 300 per cent.

Lagos, Ogun, Oyo

Before the fuel hike, travellers going from the Iyana-Ipaja park to Ibadan, Oyo State, were asked to pay between N1000 and N1500 for the trip, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

An Oyo State-based content creator, Ibrahim Sadiq, said in an interview with one of our correspondents he was charged N2,500 from the old toll gate area in Lagos to Ibadan on Wednesday.

“When I got to the small park right after the toll gate along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the bus drivers asked that we pay N2,500. A Sienna even charged N3,000. When I travelled last month I paid N2,000 from Berger. The increment is just too much,” he said.

Another commuter, who works with an educational consulting firm in Abeokuta, Ogun State but has her family in Lagos, Mrs Aishat Ahmed, said she used to pay between N1,500 and N1,800 from Berger in April.

“Since May, I spend as much as N3,500 sometimes and Abeokuta is not even that far. I remember when I used to enter a bus from Berger to Abeokuta for about N800 around 2018 or 2019. I have decided to begin to divest from Lagos and move fully to Abeokuta. This time around, the buses take so long to fill up because there are no passengers,” she added.

When Sunday PUNCH visited the God is Good Motors’ park at Yaba, Lagos, at 10.41 am on Thursday, the place looked almost empty.

On enquiry, a worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said the day had been slow, adding that passengers now preferred to go with unregistered operators because of the increase in fares.

He added that the fare from Lagos to Bayelsa a few months ago was around N7,900 and N8,000, but had increased to over N23,000 now.

For Enugu, from Lagos, the fare was around N9,000 but is now N21,000. The fare for Edo (Auchi, Akpakpava, Uselu and Ekpoma) has also increased by almost 100 per cent, hitting N19,000.

The operator stated, “The major problem now is that the company is trying to review the fares because even the amounts do not reflect the current realities. This recent increase in fuel to about N630/litre has not even been considered.

“A lot of our customers are no longer coming to board our vehicles. The business has been slow. Now, for people going to Ughelli in Delta State and other places along that route, we put them on the same bus going to Bayelsa.

“Before, by 7am, the first bus would have moved. Now, even by 8.30am, we are still doing some kind of amendments to make sure that the bus does not leave any vacant seats. It (the fuel price hike) has really affected business.

“As I speak, I am scared that the company may begin to consider downsizing in order to stay afloat. With the current situation, I hope we don’t go under.”

A ticketing agent, who spoke to one of our correspondents at the terminal, said the rate of passengers booking trips online had also dropped.

She said, “Before this current palaver, we used to have about five or more first buses going to Jos, Plateau State; Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; Enugu, Enugu State; and even to the far North like Bauchi. But, now, we manage to fill the second buses going to these areas.

“As of yesterday (Wednesday), we got a report from our Jibowu office that as of 9.30 am, the second bus going to Port Harcourt had yet to move because it was half empty. We are really losing a lot of time, manpower and resources to the fuel palaver.”

An Owerri-Imo State-bound passenger, Mrs Ogechi Nnaemeka, said she thought she had missed the bus when she arrived at 9am, but was shocked to find out that the vehicle had not moved because it was waiting for a few more passengers.

“In 2018, if you didn’t arrive at 8am or even 15 minutes earlier for the second bus, you would miss it. I am in shock how this bus has still not moved till now,” she said.

Nnameka also stated that she used to board a bus from Lagos to Owerri for between N4,500 and N6,500 between 2016 and 2018, adding that the spike in the pump price of fuel had made things difficult for her.

“For the first time in my life, last week I used the state-owned Imo Line. It was so uncomfortable but it was a bit affordable, it was N3,000 lower than what I would have paid if I had patronised any of the private transport companies,” she said.

Another passenger, Madam Martha Nzube, said she travelled from Port Harcourt to Lagos to see her daughter four days ago using the Rivers Transport Company, which charged her around N9,000, but was shocked that even the Akwa Ibom Transport Company, touted to be the cheapest, refused to accept N11,000 back to Port Harcourt.

“I am currently calling my daughter to send me some more money so that I can go back. Some people are even saying I should pay N25,000. The cheapest I have heard so far is N16,000,” she stated.

Another stranded passenger at the Yaba bus park, Mr Essien Etuk-Udoh, said he only came for a show at the Lagos State University last week.

He added that he was shocked that even the AKTC fares had also increased.

“I don’t even know what to do and Akwa Ibom is far. If I don’t set out by 12pm, I may get to my final destination by midnight and I don’t want to board any of these undocumented buses that do not have any proper registration. They have been found to be unsafe,” he said.

A loader at the Ekeson Transport Company, who refused to give his name for fear of retribution, said there had been low patronage since May when the fuel price began to rise.

He said, “You know people have to travel. And since airfares have increased to more than N100,000, people have to use buses. Imagine how they will feel when the buses too increase their fares.

“We are an affordable transport company but we also run on fuel. So, our prices have also increased by up to 100 per cent.

“The problem is that passengers now prefer Siennas because they are unregistered, cheaper and get filled easily, but I cannot assure you of their safety.”

At the Lekki terminal of the GUO Transport Limited, a field operative with the company, who gave his name simply as Shadrach, said the firm now had only one bus going to the North because of the fuel crisis.

Shadrach stated, “You know we are an elite service company. Before the fuel price increment, most people choose our services because of comfort. Now, they are going for kabu kabu buses and Siennas, which are relatively cheaper, because they have no choice.

“We have the seven-passenger Toyota Sienna vehicles, which have become our best seller during this period because it takes less time to fill them with passengers. We also have the 14-passenger Sprinter buses, 15-passenger Toyota Hiace buses and our luxury buses, which can convey 33 to 59 passengers.

“As of April, the fare from Lagos to Aba for an adult was around N10,000. Children paid around N8,500. Now, it is more than N19,000 for adults and N16,000 for children. It changes by the day. I am speaking from my knowledge of working here for more than five years.

“Lagos to Abuja used to be N11,000 for adults. Now, it should be about N21,000 or more. Lagos to Enugu used to be N12,825. Now, it is around N23,000. Lagos to Ogoja, which used to be around N11,000, has risen to double that amount.

“The change has affected business badly.”

Another worker, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the company, said he feared that the firm might cut the number of workers if the situation continues.

“Over the years, the company has faced a lot of woes in the economy, from recession to incessant inflation to COVID-19 and now this. Doing business in Nigeria is so difficult,” the source said.

When one of our correspondents visited G. Agofure Motors located in the Ojota area of Lagos State, he observed a price list displayed in the company’s reception displaying fares to Port Harcourt at N25,000; Bayelsa, N20,000; Warri, N18,000; and N18,000 for Sapele, Benin and Abraka.

However, a staff member, who identified himself simply as Livinus, revealed that the fare to Port Harcourt before the increase in petrol price ranged from N18,000 to N20,000, while to Warri was N15,000.

An attendant at Freeman Motors, Ojota, Lagos, Romeo Elvis, disclosed that the fare from Lagos to Warri was N15,000 and to Port Harcourt, N23,000, whereas, in the past, the fare to Warri was N12,000, while Port Harcourt was N15,000.

Elvis said, “In the past, individuals used to travel for parties on Thursdays and Fridays, but that is no longer the case. Now, they have stopped going to parties on those days due to the prevailing circumstances in the country. Many are now exercising caution when choosing their travel destinations and aiming to minimise their expenses.

“In the current situation, individuals refrain from travelling unless it is absolutely necessary. Several individuals who previously journeyed from the eastern region to Lagos to purchase goods have now ceased doing so. Instead, a significant number of them opt to send money and have the items delivered through waybills.”

A cashier at Peace Mass Transit, Ojota, Lagos, stated that transport fares to Enugu increased from N12,000 to N17,000 after the hike in petrol price. According to her, the increase became necessary in view of current realities and in order for the company to meet up with running costs.

Lamenting the situation, a bus driver at PMT park, Ojota, Lagos, Kalu Kalu, stated that the increase in fuel pump price had continued to affect patronage, predicting that several companies would fold up if nothing was done to address the current situation in good time.

He said, “How can people be suffering and you are telling them to endure? The reality is that there is nothing anyone can do; if fuel price increases, transportation costs will also increase.

“The new government better do something about this issue of fuel because a lot has been affected. Even fares within the town have increased, why won’t the interstate increase? If care is not taken, we will begin to see a lot of companies folding up.”

Abuja

At the usually busy Nyanya park at the boundary between the nation’s capital city of Abuja and Nasarawa State, a number of drivers sat idly in their vehicles on Friday, waiting for passengers to convey to various destinations.

One of them, who gave his name simply as Aliyu, explained that while about 20 vehicles used to leave the park daily with passengers, now on average, only about four vehicles heading for Lafia leave the park.

Aliyu stated, “What we are experiencing now is not easy. There’s an increase in the price of fuel and passengers don’t come as much as before. Before, we could load between 15 and 20 vehicles in a day, but now, we load only between three and four vehicles, and it takes about three to four hours to fill up one vehicle.

“We now charge N3,500 to Lafia, which barely results in any profit because we will buy fuel and now, it is difficult to get passengers on the way back. So, the transport business has changed, and we plead for the government’s intervention. What we make now is barely enough to feed our families.”

Another driver, Musa Mohammed, who plies the Abuja-Jos route, stated that while it used to take him a day to load passengers, but now takes him four days to find a Sienna vehicle full of passengers to drive to Jos.

He added that the increase in the pump price of fuel had added to his woes as he now buys a full tank for N50,000 from around N16,000 when petrol sold for N195/litre.

A passenger, who declined to be named, lamented having to wait for hours before the vehicle was filled up and ready to leave.

“I’m going to Benue. Before now, the car would probably be full 10 minutes after I arrived. Now, I have been here almost an hour and there’s no telling when we will commence the journey, because the drivers won’t take off until the vehicles are filled up,” she said.

Another passenger, who gave his name simply as Francis and was heading for Keffi, said he had been at the park since about 11am and as of the time of filing this report around 12.30pm, the car had yet to be filled up.

At the bustling Utako/Jabi Park in the Federal Capital Territory on Friday, the ticketing halls of several prominent transport companies were desolate and devoid of activities.

A driver with Andalinks, Sir Henry, stated that he had been stationed at the company’s base in the FCT for the past five days without a single passenger despite offering cheaper fares compared to other major operators.

Henry explained that prior to the fuel subsidy removal, it took N17,000 to fill his tank, but at present, it costs about N80,000 and passengers were not willing to pay the N25,000 fare to Lagos.

On his part, the Assistant Manager, RiversLinks Transportation Company, who gave his name simply as Okey, said there had been a sharp decline in passenger numbers due to the financial constraints faced by travellers as a result of the current increase in fuel price.

Presently, he said the fare for a trip from the base to Port Harcourt was N26,500, whereas before the removal of fuel subsidy, it was N18,500.

“That fare (N26,500) is for us, but some companies like G.U.O are collecting about N37,000. If you don’t have anything important to do, just remain at home. Before, we used to fill this vehicle with N40,000 petrol, but now it is above N70,000 to fuel it to Port Harcourt,” Okey stated.

Early-morning travellers from the FCT to areas in the South-West have reduced significantly even as they complained of high fares.

One of our correspondents, who paid a visit to the Giri junction early on Friday, observed that drivers had no choice but to drive half-filled vehicles to their destinations after waiting several hours for passengers.

A driver, identified simply as Michael, said he could only get two passengers after waiting for over three hours.

“People are no longer travelling. After waiting for three hours, I could only get two passengers but I had no choice but to embark on the journey at half capacity,” he said.

At the popular Zuba park, numerous vehicles were seen with empty seats with fewer passengers coming in.

It was gathered that a trip from Abuja to Ibadan now costs around N15,000 from between N6,000 and N9,000 before the subsidy removal. Also, a trip to Sokoto is now N15,000 from N8,000, while the fare from Abuja to Kaduna rose to N4,000 from N2,000. Kano passengers pay N6,000, while N3,000 is charged for a short trip to Minna.

A driver, Yusuf Usman, plying the Abuja-Minna route explained that he now makes a profit of N2,000 on a trip to Minna, Niger State capital.

Another driver, Muhammad Sani, noted that some drivers had been at the park for nine to 11 days waiting for passengers.

Anambra

Activities at major motor parks in Anambra State have slowed down since the hike in the price of petrol.

One of our correspondents, who visited various motor parks in the commercial cities of Onitsha, Nnewi, Obosi, Ekwulobia, Nkpor and Awka, on Friday, observed that vehicles took time to get filled up as a result of few passengers coming to the parks.

The managers of the parks and drivers attributed the development to the rise in transportation fares, which have soared marginally by over 70 per cent for both inter and intra-city commuting.

Vehicles going to Awka from Onitsha now charge N1,200 as against N500, while the fare from Onitsha to Nnewi is now N800 as against N400 before now.

One of the drivers at the motor park owned by the Transport Company of Anambra State in Onitsha, simply identified as Chisom, said, “There is low patronage by passengers at the parks these days and I think it’s because of the transport fare hike, which is not our fault.

“Before the fuel price increase, we were loading an 18-passenger bus in less than an hour. But now, it takes more than two hours before the buses manage to fill up with passengers.

“This is because of the increase in the fares caused by the fuel price hike. Before the fuel price hike, from Onitsha to Awka used to be N500, but now it is about N1,000. For this reason, passengers now prefer to board vehicles by the roadside, otherwise known as ‘pick and drop’, because those ones are cheaper.

“Another reason for the delay in the filling of vehicles at the park is that many offices have asked their workers to come to work on selected days. And many people have resorted to trekking long distances.

“Before now, the park used to be filled with passengers travelling to various destinations, especially for the weekend. The park used to bubble every Friday for weekend travellers, but today (Friday), everywhere is dull as the people have refused to travel because of the price increase.”

A passenger at the Goodness and Mercy Motor Park in Awka, who identified herself simply as Chinwe, said, “I am travelling to Enugu for the wedding of my sister. If not for the importance of my presence, I would not have travelled because the transport fare has been increased abnormally. It used to be between N1,500 and N1,800, but today, they are charging as much as N3,000.

“For over two hours now, I have been in this bus and the vehicle has not filled up. To worsen the situation, when passengers come and are told the fare, they turn back and you can’t force anyone to board a vehicle against their wish.

“I think people have withdrawn from travelling for now because of the high fares. It is not funny what we are now passing through. If not that the person I am attending her wedding is my sister, I would have just used the money for transport fare to buy her a gift and send it to her through waybill.”

Kano

Transporters in Kano have hiked their fares by about 100 per cent on many routes. Before the recent fuel price increment, transporters operating with Hiace at Unguwa Uku charged N9,500 from Kano to Lagos, but currently charge N18,000.

The commercial bus operators are lamenting low patronage, as only fewer people now embark on travels outside Kano.

It was discovered that some passengers on arrival at the motor parks change their minds and opt to waybill parcels to their loved ones outside Kano in order to save costs.

Some, who are desperate to travel, have to wait for between four and five hours for the bus to fill to capacity before takeoff.

A bus driver at Unguwa Uku bus stop, Salihu Mustapha, told Sunday PUNCH that the motor park used to bubble with activities, but was now a shadow of its old self due to poor patronage.

At the Luxury park in Hotoro, only a few passengers were boarding luxury buses to Lagos and other states in the South.

The luxury bus drivers too have hiked their fares to Lagos from N15,000 previously to between N25,000 and N26,000.

Those fitted with air-conditioners charge a lot higher than those without.

Airfares soar

Meanwhile, airfares have soared to unprecedented levels, impacting the affordability of domestic travel. In the past, passengers could secure next-day tickets for as low as N70,000 to N75,000.

Now, a one-way economy class flight from Lagos to Abuja with AirPeace now costs N95,000, while the business class fare is N150,100.

Similarly, Arik Air charges N93,429 for an economy ticket and N123,429 for a business class ticket on the Lagos-Abuja route.

Green Africa puts the fare for a one-way ticket at N88,500, while Dana Air charges N85,000 for an economy ticket and N130,000 for a business class ticket from Abuja to Lagos.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, will likely unveil the names of the ministerial nominees at plenary this week.

Plenaries at both chambers of the National Assembly are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

There has been serious agitation over the delay of President Bola Tinubu in constituting his cabinet two months after his inauguration.

According to a new amendment to the 1999 Constitution, the President and governors must submit the names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or the respective state Houses of Assembly.

This implies that Tinubu and 28 governors must submit the lists of nominees for ministers and commissioners before the end of this month.

This week is the last before the deadline for the President to name his minister-nominees.

Sources at the National Assembly stated that the letter containing the names of the nominees got to the Senate President last week.

The sources, however, noted that some last-minute adjustments were made to the list, hence the reason for the delay in reading out the names.

One of the sources said, “The Senate President got the ministerial list last week, but it was not yet time for him to unveil it, hence the reason it was kept.

“Most importantly, there were some last-minute adjustments. The Senate President had a meeting with President Tinubu over the list last week.”

Another source noted that the administration had been trying its best to avoid backlash hence, the reason why the list could not be delayed.

The lawmaker noted that the names would be read out this week, but could not tell when exactly.

The source said, “The names of the ministerial nominees will be out this week.

“The Asiwaju-led administration has been trying its best to avoid a backlash even though it is unavoidable. The names will be unveiled this week; that is all I can say.”

Another source noted that the names would be unveiled this week and many people would be shocked.

The source noted that the delay was deliberate because of intense lobbying, but the details of the list would shock a lot of Nigerians.

The source added, “The list of the nominees will be unveiled this week and I can tell you that the details will shock a lot of Nigerians. I mean a lot of big politicians will be thrown aback.

“This will be the real Asiwaju Tsunami.”

Concerning how the screening of the nominees will go, a ranking senator noted that there was not too much to the screening of ministers as it could be done within three days or one week.

The source stated, “There is no big deal about the screening of ministers. The ministers can be screened in three days or one week.

“Even if we have to call special or emergency sessions after the plenary has closed for this session, we will.

“But I know the list will be read out this week.”

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has commended the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for his commitment to the promotion of technical education in the State.

          The Director of Academic Programmes, NBTE, Architect Nkede Ogoh gave the commendation during the accreditation visit by the Board to D.S Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the State.

   Ogoh stated that quality technical education would result in improved service delivery, particularly in the manufacturing sector of the economy.

        He said, "on behalf of the Board, I would like to appreciate the Ogun State Governor for paying deserved attention to technical education. Just yesterday, I signed some papers giving approval for an institution in this State to become a Polytechnic. This is a good step in the right direction as technical education is indeed the future of improved productivity".

  Speaking, the Institution's Governing Council Chairman, Ambassador Toye Okanlawon said "Governor Abiodun is truly a listening governor who is committed to the provision of quality and affordable education for our teeming youths".

         The Chairman noted further that "unlike the previous government in the State, this administration is actually putting up a giant stride in the educational sector".

     While acknowledging that there were various challenges confronting the institution, Amb. Okanlawon assured the Board that both the staff and students of the Polytechnic would intensify efforts towards justifying the mission for its establishment.

Immidiate past governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has debunked allegations by his successor, Dr. Alex Otti, that the state government was owing commercial banks under his (Ikpeazu) watch.

He said the N2 billion loan claim only “exists in the imaginations of the peddlers of the wicked and warped narrative.”

Ikpeazu in a statement issued by his spokesman and Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Onyebuchi Ememanka, claimed that the said N2billion loan reportedly taken by the his administration was a scheme by the incumbent administration in the state to “surreptitiously inform key agencies and arms of government that their reason for not meeting their obligations to them is because there is an outstanding loan of a whooping N2 billion taken by the Ikpeazu administration from Zenith Bank and UBA.”

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in the state while challenging Governor Otti to make public his claims that Ikpeazu borrowed the said amount from the commercial banks said “in what has become a clear case of obsession and paranoia, no day passes without the present administration in Abia State looking for some reason to blame the preceding administration for everything under the sun, no matter how unreasonable.

“Their latest strategy is to surreptitiously inform key agencies and arms of government that their reason for not meeting their obligations to them is because there is an outstanding loan of a whopping N2billion taken by the Ikpeazu administration from Zenith Bank and UBA.

“Nothing could be farther from the truth. The N2 billion loan exists in the imaginations of the peddlers of the wicked and warped narrative.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to make it abundantly clear that as at 28th day of May 2023 when the administration of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu ended by effluxion of time, the government of Abia State was not owing any commercial bank in the ordinary course of business.

“This is actually a no-brainer because no commercial bank in Nigeria will grant any facility to any state government, the repayment terms of which will run beyond their tenure of office.

“In the ordinary course of business, the Abia State Government, like every state government in Nigeria, had financial arrangements with banks by way of Temporary Overdraft facilities (TOD).

“We are, however, proud to state that all TODs were cleared before we left office. To be more specific, the only outstanding TOD with UBA which was in the region of 6 Billion Naira was fully repaid in the months of March and April 2023. It is public knowledge that the last allocation received by the Ikpeazu administration was for the month of April 2023.”

Any attempt by the Central Bank of Nigeria to increase the monetary policy rate (MPR) will push more people into chronic hardship, according to Professor Uche Uwaleke, the president of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria.

The CBN will on Tuesday debate whether to slow down inflation with more rate hikes or a potential reduction in the rates.

For years, Nigerians have not celebrated a win over inflation which has worsened to 22.7 per cent in June. The National Bureau of Statistics computed the rate without factoring in the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and naira depreciation.

At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting under Godwin Emefiele, the rates were increased to 18.5 per cent from 18.0 per cent.

Uwaleke told THE WHISTLER, “The decision of the MPC in the July meeting will be influenced by the rising inflation expectations due largely to the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, the pressure on the naira and exchange rate volatility occasioned by the recent naira float. These considerations tend to recommend a further rates hike aimed at taming the stubborn inflation.

“The Ag CBN Governor who will be chairing the meeting has been part and parcel of the hawkish MPC stance for months now and so another rates hike will not come as a surprise.

“Be that as it may, the MPC should equally recognise that the removal of fuel subsidy has slowed down economic activities considerably with an attendant drop in productivity.

“So, economic growth and jobs are already negatively impacted such that a further monetary policy tightening would only worsen the situation through the credit channel as cost of capital is increased and access to credit by small businesses is made more difficult.”

Since the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, manufacturers have repriced their products while agricultural products have become expensive for consumers.

Transportation which has been a primary driver of Nigeria’s inflation has worsened as prices of logistics have almost doubled.

The subsidy removal and naira floating have affected many other sectors, including health and education as school fees are already on the rise while the cost of medication has jumped.

Uwaleke argued that an increase in the MPR may increase the risk of banks piling up non-performing loans.

Non-Performing Loans ratio as of May 2023 was at 4.4 per cent.

He said, “Also, a further increase in the Monetary Policy Rate is likely to endanger the asset quality of banks through an increase in non-performing loans as deposit money banks reprice their loans.

“In this regard, the balance of risks dictates that the MPC should pause the policy rate hikes, which has been on since May last year by maintaining a hold position on all policy parameters during the meeting.”

Uwaleke advised the MPC to recognise that much as its primary mandate is to maintain price stability, it equally has a responsibility to support output growth.

He added, “This is against the backdrop of the fact that many of the factors driving inflation in Nigeria, such as insecurity affecting food output and high energy costs are outside the control of the CBN.

“All said, the MPC should seize the opportunity of the meeting to signal readiness to support output growth through policies geared towards fostering a low-interest rates environment while keeping an eye on inflation using a mix of heterodox measures.”