Passengers in Adamawa State have decried difficulties traveling to other part of the country due to continued increase in transport fare resulting from the increase in fuel price and scarcity.
Radio Nigeria reports that most of the motor parks in the metropolis which comprises the central motor park, Adamawa sunshine park, Sauki motor park, Dubeili Motor park, Mubi roundabout motor park, and G.U Okeke motor park along Airport road Yola are congested with passengers stranded and confused due to high transport fare.
The passengers at those parks lamented the increased fares which also make it difficult to travel out of the metropolis to some local government areas and other states of the federation due to continuous hiked in transport fares and fuel scarcity coupled with economic hardship in the state.
A passenger Mika Vandi,travelling to Bauchi state for New year festivities expressed dissatisfaction and concern on the rapid increase in the transport fare from #3500 to #7000.
He said the current transport fares in the motor parks across the state was highly unaffordable due to poor economic situations.
Also speaking to Radio Nigeria, Sa'adatu Ambi, a passenger travelling to Mubi with her family for New year's holiday said, prior to this unfortunate situation, she used to pay #3000 asper transport fare but now was increased to #5000, which make it very difficult to travel.
Another passenger Mr Austin Ajayi travelling to Lagos said, the sum of #27,000 was unwillingly collected from him at G.U Okeke park along airport road Yola for a journey to Lagos, instead of #14,000.Similarly, Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Roads Transport Workers (NURTW) Adamawa State Chapter, Umaru Malam Babba expressed annoyance and concern about the continued increase in fuel prices and scarcity during the period under consideration.
He further explained that the majority of the filling stations in the state were selling fuel at #400 per liter instead of the government’s official price of#185 per liter.
The Chairman, therefore, appealed to the government to address the problem of increasing prices and the fuel scarcity for the overall interest of the nation.
COV/Aliyu Ladan.