By Ginika Okoye
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey reveals that civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) now pack their vehicles and use public transportation due to the high cost of fuel.
Some of them, who spoke to NAN in Abuja on Sunday, said it was cheaper to use public transportation than personal vehicles to work and other engagements.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ekwere (pseudo name), a civil servant, said she decided to pack her vehicle as it was no longer sustainable to use it with the current pump price of fuel and her meager salary.
Ekwere, who said it was cheaper to use public transportation, also reduced the number of days she worked to avoid going into debt.
“Every week I drive my car to work, I spend less than N100,000 on fuel alone.
”I have not talked about the food I and the children eat. When I bought the fuel for two weeks, I told myself I could not continue.
”I had to pack the vehicle because I could not continue to spend a huge amount of money on a daily basis, which would result in me living above my means.
”Now, with the permission of my superiors in the office, we go to work twice a week depending on your schedules,” she said.
Mr Festus Ugwu, a public servant, said his vehicle, which he usually packed every work day, was used only on Sunday to take his family to church.
Ugwu said that although he was afraid of the ‘one chance’ group activities, he was using public transportation to cut costs.
He appealed to the Federal Government to pay minimum wage and other allowances to help cushion the effect of the fuel pump price hike on workers.
”Using a car is a luxury now because you pay through your nose to maintain it.
”One has to calculate very well before driving to any place now because spending all your earnings on fuel is not wise,” he said.
Ms Caroline Ade, also a civil servant, said the increase in fuel pump prices had forced many citizens to live like people abroad.
Ade, who said that many workers living abroad used train transportation to and fro work, appealed to the government to revive the train system for a more reliable and sustainable transportation network.
Another public servant, Mr. Emeka Eluagu, said the federal government’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, when fully implemented, would help cut workers’ transportation costs.
Eluagu appealed to the government to ensure adequate support for the CNG initiative.
”I do not think that we are prepared for this CNG thing because I saw a video where someone’s CNG car exploded.
”The government needs to take this CNG thing seriously as an alternative to this fuel hike,” he said.
Aisha Mahmoud, a civil servant, advised the government to introduce government-owned buses to help convey workers and other citizens to their destinations at a cheaper rate.
Mahmoud said the initiative would help cushion the effect of the high fuel cost and also reduce the activities of one-chance groups in the FCT.
”Many people are now selling off their fuel-consuming vehicles to go for the ones with fuel economy,” she said.
A litre of fuel is now being sold between N1,030 and N1,400.
