DAILY TRUST
Salary earners have devised new means of minimising expenses as a result of the hike in fuel price, which has led to increase in the cost of transportation and other services in the country.
Some residing in communities far from their places of work now sleep at the office while those with vehicles have turned them into cabs to raise money to buy fuel.
Daily Trust also leant that most low and mid income earners now make use of public transportation during the weekdays while attending only essential events during weekends.
In Lagos, the hike in fuel has led to astronomical increase in the cost of transportation in the state. Some junior staff who spoke with Daily Trust said they now sleep at their offices or with friends who live around.
“I now sleep at the office as you know most workers in Lagos live in Ogun State or the border towns. Transporting myself daily from Ofada, Ogun State to my place of work on the Island is too expensive,” noted Mr Ajala Ajibade, who works as a security guard in a manufacturing company in Ikeja.
In oil-rich Rivers State, workers said that they prioritise their needs as a way of coping with the high cost of fuel.
A resident of Oyigbo, Emma Chukwu said he uses public transport to go to work while he uses his car to take his family to church on Sundays.
“The high cost of fuel has made me limit my movements. I use public transport to go to work while I use my car on Sundays to take my family to church. I don’t want to expose my family to the dangers of climbing bikes or Keke. The moment I come back from church, I park the car,” he said.
Another respondent in Oyigbo, Peter Ejike said he has abandoned his car since the hike in fuel was announced.
The provision of buses by the Anambra State government has minimised the impact of the fuel hike on civil servants in the state.
Over the years, the state government had donated buses to convey those in the public establishment to offices.
Buses are stationed at strategic places every morning and evening to transport state workers. Most civil servants don’t use their private cars on weekdays.
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