The just concluded week was the 29th of the Bola Tinubu Presidency in the saddle and it was as exciting and packed as most of the ones before it. Unlike the Sunday before it, the last Sunday was quiet, at least from the media look of it, unlike the one before it when the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held its Ordinary Session at the State House in Abuja. Remember that our President is the Chairman of that Authority.
However, from Monday, Jagaban resumed the tireless work mode again, taking files, receiving guests, sealing agreements and engaging in mediations aimed at saving collapsing relationships and states. It was still the same week he decided to take State matters along as he vacations for the Christmas/New Year festivities.
Quite a lot happened during the week, though the lots were discharged in the earlier parts; actually, most of his activities were crammed into Monday. However, the most significant event of the week was located in Wednesday when he, once again, spoke to the very needs of the masses, not in words, by his action, heeding a call he once made to authority when he said “let the poor breath”.
Since it is a popular festive season, during which most families, from all social categories, will be travelling to all parts of the country to celebrate with their loved ones, and the prevailing economic circumstance does not offer any reprieve, especially since the removal of fuel subsidy, President Tinubu thought of an intervention to make the season as stew as possible.
On Wednesday, President Tinubu, through an Inter-ministerial Committee on Presidential Interventions, announced a plan to slash transportation fares for land vehicles by 50% and a total price cut for train services. What it means is that for the fifteen days when the Tinubu transportation freebies will last; December 21 to January 4, those who will be travelling interstates by road, from some selected transport companies, will only need to pay half of the normal fare to get to where they intend to celebrate with tier loved ones. Also, for the three train services in different parts of the country, being Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Ibadan, and Warri to Itakpe services, passengers will ride free of charge.
For those listening, Jagaban had already announced this plan on Monday, when he met with the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), when he told his guests he was aware of the vicissitudes Nigerians, especially those in the talakawa social class, are living with, noting he was already doing things about it. His entire Renewed Hope Agenda is focused on launching the ordinary Nigerian into an experience he hardly has; bliss and ease. However, for the immediate circumstance, as in going through the yuletide relieved as much as possible, he came up with a coordinated plan.
Announcing the Tinubu transportation ‘bonanza’, Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake, who was joined by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said the transportation rebate was one of the ways the President is demonstrating his love and concern for Nigerians.
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“In the spirit of Christmas and in demonstration of his love for Nigerians as a proof, he feels the federal government should intervene to bring down the costs of public transportation to allow persons who want to travel to visit their loved ones. The President is well aware of the recent increase in cost of interstate transportation. It is in this wise that the Federal Government is announcing, beginning from tomorrow, a special discounted holiday season fare on road transport and zero-fare by rail across Nigeria.
“What this means is that from tomorrow, Nigerians willing to travel can board public transport via minibuses, luxury buses at 50% discount of current cost and all our train services on the routes the trains currently serve at zero cost to and fro on their travels this holiday season. This special presidential intervention will commence tomorrow Thursday, December 21. It will end on January 4, 2024”, he said.
Already, there have been feedbacks from across the country as to how Nigerians are taking advantage of the transportation rebates, news reports from various sources have been providing updates. For instance, The Nation, on Friday, kept us all abreast with goings on at the motor parks and train stations. “NURTW vehicles begin 50% slash in interstate transport fares” and “Breaking: Excitement as passengers enjoy free train service from Lagos-Ibadan” were two headlines indicating how well Tinubu’s plans to get people close to as much fun and comfort as possible during these festivities.
Traveling this period, if security is your concern, don’t worry, Tinubu also has that covered. To minimize the security risks on the roads as much as possible and see that all parts of the country are secure and free of panic, Alake said “the President has already directed the Police, Department of State Services, the Military and other security agencies to work collaboratively to ensure the holiday period is safe without any security breach in any part of the country”.
Before that major announcement on Wednesday, which is lighting hearts up across the country, President Tinubu had, on Monday, had a couple of engagements, which are important to national growth and cohesion. One of such engagements was his intervention, for the second time, in the political crisis in Rivers State, involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike.
The Rivers debacle, prior to the meeting on Monday, had rather escalated daily, despite moves from various quarters to find rhythm for both sides. However, in a resolute effort, President Tinubu gathered all interests in the crisis at the Villa, including other stakeholders in the Rivers Project, to agree on a way forward. Of course the rhythm was found and the resolutions, eight of them in number, that were reached have become the basis on which gladiators in the state are now working.
On same Monday, before the Rivers peace meeting, the President performed a very important task, very important to the economic recovery efforts of his administration. A new Board was inaugurated for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, led by its non-Executive Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure. It was an auspicious moment for Asiwaju to state some matters of fact, number one of which was that he does not reward lethargy with continuity. He told the team to set to work already, as there is no luxury of time. Besides the Ministers whom he already told during their retreat that their works are being measured, this is another team he told it is being watched and if it fails to bring the desired result, it could be summarily dissolved.
Then he took the garb of an advocate for the oppressed and downtrodden people of the oil-rich Niger Delta region. He said the issue of corporate social responsibility to the people in the remote parts of the Niger Delta, the villages in the creeks, must be given a priority, saying “Niger Delta must be seen as the goose that lays the golden egg and we must treat that region with the deserved respect and care. It is not asking for too much to ensure quality and constant water supply, schools, medical facilities, and roads. “It is not about us. It is about the well-being of the entire country and the lifeblood of the nation. We should care more about the environment. We will do more for security to minimize stealing and vandalization”.
He spoke to other things like the need for Nigeria to pay more attention to gas development, especially as we transition, along with the rest of the world, to cleaner energy sources, think of how to grow production and so on.
He also met with the leadership of Total Energies, led by its Group Chairman, Patrick Pouyanne, on Monday, assuring the visitors that that his administration would ensure that Nigeria remains a top-level destination for offshore and onshore investments, reiterating federal government’s commitment to removing all anti-investment impediments in the country. Let us not forget that he met NPAN same day, so let’s leave how packed the day was to your imagination.
Then on Thursday, having sorted the movements of Nigerians to their villages out, he also went to his village in Lagos to celebrate the season. He received a rousing welcome at the airport and on Friday, had his Jumaat prayers at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque in Surulere, where the society’s centennial anniversary was commemorated, reiterating his administration’s commitment to the unity of the country, as well as ensuring the welfare and prosperity of all citizens, irrespective of ethnic or religious backgrounds. He also seized the moment to say the economic reforms he has initiated are aimed at establishing a robust and secure foundation for Nigerians today and for generations unborn.
Being the week of Christmas, more should be expected from Jagaban because he is sure to want to delight the people the more by announcing new plans for a better economy. However, nothing is certain yet, we can just leave it all to the imagination, till the week starts unfolding.