The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says the agency is yet to recover from previous transportation fare waivers by the government.
The Federal Government announced a 50% waiver on road transport and a 100% ticket reduction for rail transit on Wednesday as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the country’s high cost of living, particularly during Yuletide.
However, hours following the decision, Fidet Okhiria, the NRC’s Managing Director, expressed concern about the expense of the intervention scheme and hoped that the government would cover the expenditures.
“This is not the first time. We did this two years ago. It was effective. I say we’ve yet to recover from that. But what is the government for? The government is to make sure that people have comfort as much as possible,” he said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“And we are quite willing and wishing to provide that service. You know, you don’t forget in other developed world, they get this thing either directly or indirectly.
“You recall during the COVID, even private companies were given relief, and those without jobs like in the UK, US, and everywhere…So it’s a good thing that the government considers we should do a free service, but they should also be willing to provide the resources to do it.
“We are hoping this time they are going to give us fuel and those 15 days we are going to provide the free service. They are also willing to provide at least the money we pay to the cleaners and the security.”
The NRC boss explained that the agency will buy diesel to power the trains and other expenses.
The cost of transportation skyrocketed in Nigeria owing to the removal of fuel subsidy in a country where the majority of the people use road transportation.