The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said that the latest move to expand CNG-powered transportation as a way of reducing transport fares in the country is a sign that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is in ‘panic mode’.
Reacting to the emergency meeting between the President and state governors on measures to reduce transportation costs on Friday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the move as a mere ‘political gimmick’ that is coming three years too late.
The party said the President and the governors were not genuinely interested in bringing down the cost of transportation across the country but were merely reacting to the questions raised by the opposition’s plan to introduce targeted production subsidy.
It said if the President believed that expanding CNG transportation could help to lower the cost of transportation nationwide, why was this intervention not part of the plan to remove subsidy on petrol from the beginning?
‘They left the people to suffer for three years, and now that the election approaches they suddenly realise that they could make transportation cheaper, ‘ the party said, asking, ‘ If CNG buses can provide cheaper transportation today, why were they not rapidly deployed when Nigerians first began to pay the heavy price for their wrong-headed subsidy removal policy?’
The ADC said the timing was particularly revealing, coming shortly after its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, placed targeted subsidies and the cost of living at the centre of the national political debate.
‘Why did it take Atiku’s subsidy plan for this government to suddenly start running helter-skelter and to realise the need to bring down the cost of transportation?’ Abdullahi asked.
According to the ADC, Nigerians would not be deceived by the ‘gimmick’ because they are able to distinguish between a government responding to their suffering and a government responding to the threat of electoral defeat.
‘For three years, Nigerians complained about transport fares, food prices and collapsing purchasing power. The government told them to endure. Now that the election is approaching, the same government has suddenly discovered that transportation is too expensive and government intervention is necessary. That is not leadership. That is cynical politics.’
The party said the hurried measures being considered by the government reinforce its position that the administration had the capacity to cushion the effects of its harsh economic policies all along but simply refused to do so until its electoral interests were threatened.
‘No doubt, if these interventions are possible now, they were possible. The difference is that then, President Tinubu did not think it was necessary to support suffering citizens until now when he needs their votes.’
‘A president who truly cares would not wait for three years and an approaching election before treating the cost of transportation as an emergency. One thing is clear, President Tinubu is not suddenly responding to the suffering of Nigerians. He is responding to ADC and Atiku; he is responding to the impending reality of the 2027 election that shows that he has failed on security, failed to create jobs, and failed to bring down the cost of living,’ the ADC said.