Road transporters said, Nigerians should not expect transport fare drop anytime soon, despite the recent slash infuel pump price to between N925 and N985 per litre, across major fuel filling stations nationwide.

The transporters who spoke with LEADERSHIP noted that the fuel price drop is insignificant and that not all filling stations have so far slash their fuel pump price. Lamenting hike in cost of maintaining their vehicles as spare part prices have risen by over a 100 per cent in the last one year, they said, the fuel price may still rise in near future, hence, the need for them to observe price movement and know whether the environment is ripe for them to adjust fare downward.

LEADERSHIP had earlier reported in December 2024 that Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in the price of its Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) product, also known as fuel, to N899.50 per litre. The firm had previously lowered the price to N970 per litre on 24 November and has now set a new price of N899.50 per litre. This reduction is designed to ease transport costs during the festive period.

Following this announcement, the president of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, stated that ,the Dangote Petroleum Refinery had partnered MRS Oil and Gas to offer petrol at N935 per litre at retail outlets, following a reduction in the ex-depot price from N970 to N899.50 per litre. From then till now, some other major marketers have signed similar deals with Dangote Refinery. Similarly, this development forced NNPC Limited to equally drop its fuel litre price to N925.

While many passengers expected this reduction to be reflected in the fares they pay for transportation, this was not to be as instead, there were fare increases on some routes across Lagos and Ogun States axis.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a commuter in Lagos, Abass Tajudeen said: “By now, I expected a reduction in the price of transport, but it is instead increasing. From Oshodi to Sango-Ota, it’s now N1,000. The issue is that we have no option but to board the buses since we can’t trek that long distance.”

Another commuter, Dele Adeleye, stated that transporters are in the habit of inflicting pain on commuters, exploiting every situation to charge more.

Narrating his ordeal, Adeleye mentioned that a trip from Oshodi to Gbagada General Hospital, usually N200, is now N300. However, when there is a church activity around Gbagada on Sundays, drivers take advantage and charge N400, which, he said, was not right.

Speaking on behalf of App-Based Transporters, a business partnerships and proposals manager at the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Comr. Jolaiya Seun Moses responded to why there is no noticeable reduction in transport costs.

He explained that, “we have experienced several fuel price hikes, yet we have never demanded an increase in transportation fares. The era of raising transport costs with every slight fuel price increase has changed. We are now in a system where we endure one another. What we’re observing in fuel prices are minor fluctuations. Even when there’s a N50 increase, we transporters don’t demand higher fares. So, when there’s a small reduction of N30 or so, we don’t see it as a decrease but rather as a fluctuation in price.”

Moses, who is also the association’s national treasurer, stated that, “If there is a significant reduction in fuel prices, you will see a decrease in transportation costs without transporters needing to be informed. Passengers themselves will start asking for it. The current reduction in fuel prices is not significant enough to affect what we charge. A decrease of N20 or N30 is not sufficient to cause a reduction in transportation fares. Even now, no driver will tell you they are taking home good money. You would need to see fuel prices drop below N800 per litre before you start seeing any noticeable changes.”

Another driver, Akinloye James, who plies the Oshodi to Gbagada General Hospital route, said the price of transportation cannot come down mainly because not all filling stations are selling at the reduced price. “For instance, at the Total station, if you are going from Oshodi to Gbagada, their price is still above N1,000. Only a few are selling below N1,000. So, the fact remains that more stations are selling above N1,000, which is why people have not witnessed a reduction in the price of transportation,” he said.

Corroborating what James said, another bus driver who shuttles between Oshodi and Mafoluku, Lagos, Joshua Mafolasere, expressed, “People are saying there is a drop in the amount at which fuel is sold, but not all filling stations are selling at a reduced price. And because not all filling stations have reduced pump prices, it has not been reflected in transport costs.”

Mafolasere also said: “The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), known as the union, collects their money regardless of the economic situation. They don’t pity the drivers; they don’t reduce the money charged for booking daily, and this is aside from the little money you pay to different agbero.

“At Oshodi here, we pay N1,200 for a ticket every day we want to work. And for every trip you make, you also pay money, excluding payments of different levies such as boys’ money, environmental money, and other expenses. So tell me, how do we reduce transport costs with all these levies? Mafoluku to Oshodi is at N200, and before the subsidy removal, it was N100, then moved to N150, and now it is N200.”

Mafolasere implored the government to provide a soft landing because when the price of essential commodities like fuel comes down, then automatically, ‘we too will reduce the price at which we carry passengers. But marginal reductions such as N30 or N50 do not solve or provide solutions to the issues before us.’

LEADERSHIP visited up to three different NURTW offices at Oshodi on two separate days to find out why people have not been seeing a reduction in transport fares and what the unions are doing to reduce the burden. One member of the union at Branch E, located at A7, Seinde Calisto Crescent, Oshodi, said, “We cannot attend to you without you first going through Branch A. Any information you want, you get at the branch or they permit us to give you; otherwise, there’s nothing we can do.”

The following day, a visit to Branch A, where some members were available, unlike the previous day when none was available to speak, also directed our correspondents to the Lagos State Council at Agege, saying Branch A cannot speak without going to the state council. However, efforts to speak to the State council failed as well as nobody was ready to respond to our enquiries.