‘Nigerians Won’t Be Deceived, Why Wait Till Election Is Near?’ – ADC Tackles Tinubu’s CNG Transport Plan

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of playing politics with the hardship Nigerians are facing, saying the government would not have waited three years and an approaching election before treating the rising cost of transportation as an emergency if it genuinely cared about the people.

The opposition party said the recent move by the Federal Government and state governors to expand Compressed Natural Gas (CNG-powered) transportation and reduce transport fares was nothing more than a ‘political gimmick’ coming too late.

The ADC made its position known in a statement issued on Friday, August 28, by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.

The opposition camp was reacting to the President’s recent meeting with state governors over measures to reduce transportation costs, Naija News reports.

According to the party, the sudden attention being given to cheaper transportation came shortly after its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, made the rising cost of living and targeted subsidy a major part of the national political conversation.

The party questioned why CNG-powered buses were not deployed on a larger scale when the removal of petrol subsidy first pushed up transport fares across the country.

Abdullahi asked why the government had waited until now to consider measures that could make transportation cheaper.

“They left the people to suffer for three years, and now that the election approaches, they suddenly realise that they could make transportation cheaper,” the party said.

It added, “If CNG buses can provide cheaper transportation today, why were they not rapidly deployed when Nigerians first began to pay the heavy price for their wrong-headed subsidy removal policy?”

The ADC argued that the timing of the latest intervention was difficult to separate from the growing political debate over Atiku’s proposal to introduce a targeted production subsidy.

“Why did it take Atiku’s subsidy plan for this government to suddenly start running helter-skelter and to realise the need to bring down the cost of transportation?” Abdullahi asked.

The opposition party said Nigerians were capable of telling the difference between genuine efforts to ease their suffering and measures introduced because an election was approaching.

The ADC maintained that Nigerians had spent the past three years complaining about high transport fares, rising food prices and the declining purchasing power of households without receiving the kind of intervention now being announced.

“For three years, Nigerians complained about transport fares, food prices and collapsing purchasing power. The government told them to endure. Now that the election is approaching, the same government has suddenly discovered that transportation is too expensive and government intervention is necessary. That is not leadership. That is cynical politics,” the statement said.

The party further argued that the latest moves showed that the government had the ability to cushion the effects of its economic policies much earlier but failed to act.

“No doubt, if these interventions are possible now, they were possible. The difference is that then, President Tinubu did not think it was necessary to support suffering citizens until now when he needs their votes,” the ADC said.

The party also dismissed the Federal Government’s plan to use CNG and electric vehicles to bring down transportation costs as a response to the pressure created by the opposition.

It accused Tinubu of becoming increasingly concerned about the political consequences of the hardship Nigerians are facing as the 2027 elections draw closer.

“A president who truly cares would not wait for three years and an approaching election before treating the cost of transportation as an emergency,” the ADC said.

“One thing is clear, President Tinubu is not suddenly responding to the suffering of Nigerians. He is responding to ADC and Atiku; he is responding to the impending reality of the 2027 election that shows that he has failed on security, failed to create jobs, and failed to bring down the cost of living.”