15-days Free Train Rides: Rewane Tells Tinubu to Extend Package to Road Transportation
- Bismarck Rewane has stated that the FG’s free transportation would impact more Nigerians if it included road transportation
- He said Nigeria has few rail points, and they do not run through all the states, hence the need to include road transportation
- He urged FG to address core productivity issues for Nigerians to see long-term benefits in the standard of living
The Federal Government’s free transport initiative would reach more Nigerians if it included road transportation.
This is according to Mr. Bismarck Rewane, the foremost economic analyst and managing director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited.
Source: Getty Images
Speaking in an interview on Sunrise Daily, Mr. Rewane observed that Nigeria has few rail points that run through only a few states, thus excluding many Nigerians from benefiting from this initiative.
He said:
"If there were more rail points across other states, the initiative would benefit more Nigerians."
He added that if the government extended the initiative to include road transport, like was done in 2023, it would have a far-reaching impact.
The Federal government recently announced 15 days of free train rides for Nigerians starting from December 20, 2024, to January 5, 2025.
According to Minister for Information Mohammed Idris, the move would reduce financial pressures on Nigerians during holiday travels, especially since the removal of the fuel subsidy had triggered increases in transportation fares.
Speaking further on the impact of this initiative, Rewane pointed out that the initiative does not address fundamental issues that affect the standard of living, and once the Yuletide festivities are over, the inflation reality would catch up with Nigerians again.
He said:
“Such a measure is okay in the short-term, but it does not address fundamental issues like the cost of doing business. After three weeks, things will come back to normal, and the effect of naira devaluation and the high cost of petrol, cooking gas, and food items will catch up with us. We have to do something about our productivity.”
Nigeria's food inflation rose to 39.93%
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria's headline inflation rose to 34.6% in November, up from 33.8% in October 2024, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
According to a report recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation rose to 39.93%, sustained by increasing prices in tuber crops and grains.
Nigeria's inflation rate rose consistently for months up to June 2024 before slightly declining in the next two months.
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Source: Legit.ng
