The Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, has lamented the slash of transport fare by the Nigerian government.
The Corporation said it is yet to recover from previous transportation fare waivers by the government.
DAILY POST reports that the Federal Government had on Wednesday announced a 50 per cent waiver on road transport and free train rides during the festive season.
It is part of moves by the Tinubu administration to address the high cost of living in the country, especially during the Yuletide.
However, the Managing Director of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria, despite commending the development, expressed concerns over the cost of the intervention scheme and hopes the government can defray the costs.
“This is not the first time. We did this two years ago. It was effective. I say we’ve yet to recover from that,” he told Channels TV.
“But what is the government for? The government is to make sure that people have comfort as much as possible.
“And we are quite willing and wishing to provide that service. You know, you don’t forget in the developed world, they get this thing either directly or indirectly.
“You recall during the COVID, even private companies were given relief, and those without jobs like in the UK, US, and everywhere. So it’s a good thing that the government considers we should do a free service, but they should also be willing to provide the resources to do it.
“We are hoping this time they are going to give us fuel and those 15 days we are going to provide the free service. They are also willing to provide at least the money we pay to the cleaners and the security.”
According to him, the agency will still have to buy diesel to power the trains, and also make other expenses.
NRC expresses concern over implementation of free train rides during Yuletide
