Sallah: Transportation, foodstuffs prices soar

 

As Nigerians travel to various locations across the country for Eid-el Kabir celebration, transporters on Monday hiked transport fares at the various motor parks across the country.

An investigation by the News Agency of Nigeria showed increases of between 20 and 25 per cent in transport fares at Jabi and Utako parks in Abuja.

The fare for Abuja to Lokoja, which attracted N1,500 per passenger before the Sallah festival, now goes for N2,000 per passenger.

The fare for a journey from Abuja to Kaduna is relatively stable, when compared to the situation in September.

A passenger at Jabi Park, Hajia Meimuna Adamu, said that there was an increase of N300 in the cost of transportation from Abuja to Kano.

“I paid N2,700 to Kano last week but today (Monday), they are charging every passenger N3,000. The transporters are always increasing their fares during festive periods.’’

The cost of transportation from Abuja to Lagos increased from N4,500  to N5,550 at Utako.

A commuter at the park, Mr. Dayo Adeyemi, said that the increase in the cost of transportation was expected because it was a usual occurrence during festive periods.

Adeyemi said that the transport fare from Abuja to Ibadan before the festival was N4,000, adding that it had been increased to N4,550.

Mr. Abubakar Idris, a driver, who plies the Abuja-Kano route, defended the increase in the cost of transportation during festive periods.

He said, “We usually have full passengers to Kano during Sallah but few passengers will come on board from Kano to Abuja.

“We have to recover the cost of running our vehicles back to Abuja during this period.’’

Also, Mr. Wasiu Akande, a mechanic, said he paid N1,200 from Lagos to Ibadan on Monday. Before this sallah, this fare, he said, was N600.

Mr. Muhammad Ekuku,  a driver, who plies the Abuja-Ankpa route,  also noted that at the beginning of festive periods, many people travelled from Abuja to Ankpa, while few people travelled from Ankpa to Abuja.

Meanwhile, the prices of foodstuffs have increased, as Abuja residents on Monday made last-minute shopping for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.