Tag: Welcome development

Commercial transport operators must let free CNG installation in their vehicles reflect in cheaper fares

The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which kicked off with the distribution of 1,000 conversion kits, is a welcome development. We urge similar initiatives at the state and local government levels. Just like the revolution in GSM Telecommunications technology, the relevant authorities should awaken to the potential opportunities the CNG conversion portends, as business. Nothing stops the three tiers of government from starting a floodgate of trainee centres across the country, to churn out technicians, knowledgeable in the new technology.

Simply put, the CNG conversion could become the next business in town. But the governments at the three tiers of government would have to make that happen. Presently, there are few and far-fetched centres for the conversion. Reports show that customers have to wait for four to six weeks to get a chance to have their vehicles converted, because of the few centres and even fewer technicians. We imagine the commercial boost, should government subsidise the training for many technicians. Again, the government could encourage private companies and enterprises to train technicians. The state and local government councils can collaborate to establish centres across the local government towns. And states with high volume of vehicles can help private entrepreneurs establish conversion points in city centres. States like Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Enugu should have hundreds of conversion centres manned by competent personnel to drive this revolutionary programme. Ogun State, from available reports, appears to be ahead other states in the CNG programme. We wonder why most states are lagging behind. It appears the governors do not understand the public angst over the cost implication of the deregulation of fuel and its ripple effects on the citizens, especially transportation. If the governors do, they would join forces with the Federal Government to drive the transition to CNG. We warn that it is foolhardy to take the economic hardship in the street for granted. In many instances, the cost of transportation had quadrupled, yet the income of most people is stagnated. Perhaps, the answer to the inflationary pressure on the economy could lie in the drastic reduction in the cost of transportation. Whether for inter-state or intra-state movement of persons, goods and services, the cost of transportation is a major contributory factor, fuelled by the high cost of diesel and petrol. Should a significant number of public vehicles convert to CNG, it will definitely impact on the cost charged commuters and transporters of goods.

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We therefore urge the federal, state and local governments to, as a matter of urgency, influence the construction of more gas centres for the CNG vehicles. While we are not arguing for state-run enterprises, we believe government can facilitate businesses. After all, the very essence of government is the security and welfare of the people. So, governments can provide incentives to help business operators in any key  sector to enhance the welfare of the people. Transporters must also show integrity for the governments to do more. Buses and articulated vehicles running on CNG must show fidelity to the objectives of granting them free conversion kit, with reduction in the cost of transportation. It would be fraudulent for them to gain the free kit and conversion, and yet continue to charge what the users of petrol and gas charge. The transport unions can also play a role in the transition programme by encouraging their members to know that they are partners in the business of providing quality services to the people at competitive pricing.

We urge the federal, state and local governments to take all necessary steps to bring down the cost of transportation, both for commuters and goods. If that is done, the nation will heave a sigh of relief from the economic hardship that, if unchecked, could upend the country.

•We commend both Labour and Federal Govt over N70,000 new minimum wage

After dragging on for weeks, the Federal Government finally came to an agreement with the organised labour on the new minimum wage. While briefing State House correspondents after a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and labour leaders at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, Thursday, last week, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, gave N70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. The minister also spoke of the president’s pledge to undertake massive investment in infrastructure, particularly in renewable energy and in the acquisition of more buses, the compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

Minister of State for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, on her part said that the president also agreed that the wage should be reviewed every three years instead of five years.

Nigerians must have heaved a sigh of relief that at least one aspect of the waiting game is finally over. We expect that in the coming weeks, both the justice ministry and the National Assembly will expedite the process of getting the agreement formalised so it could be signed into law. After the

sabre-rattling, grandstanding and the avoidable tardiness on both sides while the negotiations dragged, the agreement seems the least those institutions could do to put the matter behind us. The organised labour obviously deserves commendation for yielding to the nationalist imperative when it mattered the most; so also the government for showing sensitivity to labour’s demands at a very difficult time.

Even now, we must acknowledge that the struggle is not over. The challenge ahead now consists in its implementation. Given the current situation of the economy, we know that this won’t be easy, particularly for our hordes of operators in the private sector, most especially those in the small and medium scale segment. In fact, there is great possibility of job losses as employers struggle to meet the burden of the new wage. The government might need to consider a bouquet of incentives where necessary, at least until such a time when things stabilise.

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More potentially problematic however, are the states and local governments. Given what is already a notorious fact that some state governments only a short while back began to pay the old minimum wage, the question of how those states could be made to comply with the new one has remained a matter of imagination.

Yet, it goes without saying that the states, without exception, have a duty to pay. Point is – there is nothing to suggest that the funds are not there. In fact, the quantum of accretion into the coffers of state governments in recent time should ordinarily allay such fears. The issue here, as against the usual refrain about not having funds, would seem about their need to re-order their priorities, than anything else. This is where the organised labour as a body must consider it part of its duty not just to call them out but to get such states to comply.

The other truth is that most of our elected officials would rather mouth the need for citizens to make necessary sacrifices than practice what they preach. At a time things are supposed to be hard, with the economy generally proving unsparing to the vast majority, what the citizens are daily treated to is mindless ostentation by those elected to serve. Today, if Nigerians are any distraught about the rat race that public service has come to represent, it can only be on account of the yawning disconnect between the standard of living of ordinary citizens and those privileged to get into office. Now is the time for the political leadership at all levels to demonstrate that true and meaningful sacrifice still have a place among its ranks. A good way to start is to shed those notorious under-the-table allowances and other perquisites that have since become the norm.