Fakoyejo Olalekan
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has discontinued the 50 per cent reduction in the fares of government buses.
Sanwo-Olu had slashed bus prices by 50 per cent on 8 February 2023 following the Naira crunch that drastically increased the cost of living.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Naira scarcity was induced by the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which phased out old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
This reduced the Naira in circulation with many unable to access the new Naira expected to replace the old Naira notes mopped out of circulation.
As a result, Nigerians were buying Nigerian currencies on the black market, paying N1,000 to collect N5,000, as the banks said the CBN didn’t provide sufficient new Naira notes to circulate.
Following the CBN’s decision to accept the judgement of the Supreme Court, which states the old Naira notes are still legal, the scarcity has been projected to end in a few weeks.
Consequently, Sanwo-Olu directed that fares for the state buses should be restored to 100 per cent starting from April 1, 2023.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) on Tuesday, 28 March 2023.
The decision to cut the fare also occurred weeks before the Governorship election in Lagos State. Sanwo-Olu was seeking re-election. Also, the discontinuation was announced weeks after he was re-elected as governor of the state.
“With effect from Saturday, April 1, bus fare on all regulated buses — BRT, standard and FLM — shall revert to 100 percent rate,” the statement said.
“Lagos state governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, had on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, approved a 50% slash in bus fares following the cash crunch brought about by the recent currency swap.
“Following the supreme court and federal government’s pronouncements on the use of old notes alongside the new notes and return of stability to the system, the 50% rebate is hereby discontinued,” the agency added.
