President Bola Tinubu has approved a special presidential initiative to lessen the cost of transportation during the Yuletide season, working with luxurious bus companies to reduce their prices by 50% along 22 interstate routes.
It has also declared movement during the period by train along the existing routes free of charge to enable Nigerians willing to travel to do so with less financial strain.
The Chairman of the Presidential Intervention on Public Transportation and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who disclosed this during a press briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, said that the initiative takes effect from December 21, 2023, and ends on January 4, 2024.
Flanked by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and his Transportation counterpart, Saidu Alkali, Alake explained that President Tinubu approved the gesture in the spirit of Christmas and the end-of-year festivities, as well as to demonstrate his love for Nigerians.
He said the intervention is intended to bring down the cost of public transportation to allow citizens who want to travel to visit their loved ones and hometowns to do so without stress and the extra burden imposed by the high cost of transport around this period.”
Reading a prepared text, Alake added, “The President is well aware of the recent increase in the cost of interstate transportation and even air travel. Traditionally, our people love to travel during Christmas and the end of the year to be with families and friends, and this has been the practice for ages.
The Minister of Transportation, in his remark, noted that the existing train services of Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itapke, and Abuja-Kaduna will maintain their existing schedules throughout the period.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation said the gesture will be implemented from time to time as deemed fit and is not a one-off initiative
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