Petrol price hike: Dapo Abiodun cautions transporters in Ogun against exploiting commuters

Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, has warned transporters in the state against exploiting members of the public due to the recent hike in the pump price of petrol.

On September 3, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the petrol price to N855 per litre.

Abiodun spoke in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun, on Monday during a meeting with leaders of transport unions on how to ensure fair transportation pricing in the state.

He also announced that his administration would make available 100 new 18-seater compressed natural gas (CNG)-enabled buses for the use of transporters to mitigate the impact of the hike in petrol prices.

He said the federal government would provide 20 CNG-enabled buses and 500 conversion kits to the state during the week.

“We’ve seen in the past that when there is a change in pump prices by maybe 10 percent, we have noticed that our transporters also naturally increase fares because the cost of their operational equipment—be it motorcycles, tricycles, trucks, or buses—is impacted,” Abiodun said.

“What we’ve noticed is that when there is a change in the pricing of petroleum products by 10 percent to 20 percent, the impact that we see play out at times is like 2000 percent, and we want to dialogue to ensure the people are not stretched.

“The change in price is about 25 percent or 30 percent, so if pump prices have changed by like 25 percent to 30 percent, we should not see a difference in transport fares that is more than 25 percent or 30 percent.

“The plans that we have as a state government, our plans are to, in the first instance, make 100 buses—100 18-seater buses—available to our transport unions.”

Speaking on behalf of the transport heads, Samsudeen Apelogun, the national president of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), praised the governor for transforming the sector with the introduction of the e-mobility programme.

Apelogun promised to call the stakeholders together and come up with a more friendly transport fare that is within their control.