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Sallah: Passengers decry hike in transport fare
A good number of those travelling from Ibadan to Lagos and other cities by road on Saturday condemned the hike in transport fares.
The passengers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, lamented the manner the fares up.
They said the fares moved farther away from what they used to be before the Sallah celebration.
Those of them whom a NAN correspondent met at Ojoo and other motor parks visited in Ibadan said transportation fare to most destinations had increased by at least 35 per cent.
At the motor park at Iwo road in Ibadan, transporters were discovered to be charging N3,000 and N3,500 for buses and N4,500 for cars going to Lagos.
This was against N2,000 and N2,500 respectively charged before festive season.
A commercial bus driver, Mr Nurudeen Akanbi, however said it was a normal thing for transportation fares to go up during the festive period.
He nonetheless noted that the fares would always return to normal after the celebrations.
“Passengers may even need to pay more while returning to their base after the celebrations, because there will be a big rush to catch up with work on resumption day,” the driver warned.
He also attributed the hike in transportation fare to the recent petroleum subsidy removal which had jacked up prices of fuel and motor spare parts.
Some passengers at the motor parks, however, condemned the sharp increase in the transport fares, saying it would affect their budget and other plans for Eid-el-Kabir.
Mrs Rofiat Adeoye, a traveller, said she had planned to get some gift items for her relations on her trip to Lagos.
”But due to the increase in the transport fare, I cannot do that again because intra-city transport fares would have gone up in Lagos too,” she said.
Another passenger, Mr Akeem Gbadegesin, urged governments to assist travellers with subsidised transportation initiatives across all routes during any festive season.
“Commercial operators are using the rush period during the celebrations as an opportunity to exploit people,” he said.
NAN reports that passengers, who could not afford the fare, were seen leaving the parks and moving along the Ibadan-Lagos expressway.
This was with the hope of getting cheaper means of transportation though private vehicle owners who would take them along to use the money gained to augment the fuel purchased.(NAN
A coalition of youth organisations has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to reconsider its wanted tag on socialite, Dr Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu, OFR.
The organisations, Niger Delta Youth Council for Good Governance and Middle Belt Youth Stakeholders’ Initiative said this in a joint press statement they issued on Thursday in Abuja.
According to them, the declaration of Achimugu wanted by the anti-corruption agency came to them as a rude shock.
The joint statement was signed by Comrade Emma Niboro and Ali Ameh for Niger Delta Youth Council for Good Governance and Middle Belt Youth Stakeholders’ Initiative, respectively.
They described Achimugu as a dedicated friend of the youths, who had always shown commitment to the welfare and care of the downtrodden.
According to the youth coalition, “we know the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, as a man who came with utmost zeal to sanitize the agency. He has already demonstrated this and we are proud of his achievements so far.
“However, we urge him to resist pressure from politicians, which is a plague that has dwarfed EFCC for several years of its existence.
“The commission had hitherto remained a tool for politicians to undue their perceived political foes and this has always rubbed off on the credibility of the agency.
“The case of Achumugu doesn’t appear to be different in any way, as the haste with which she was declared wanted showed there is a hand of Esau and voice of Jacob.
“Our appeal is that the commission should withdraw the wanted tag on her and give her ample time to report to the commission, as she has never been indicted of any offence whether in Nigeria or outside the country.”
While noting that Achimugu is a global figure, they added that they can always vouch for her integrity.
“We know her, she has always been of immense help to the youths and other members of the society.
“Her closeness to certain politicians should not be used as a tool to persecute or harass her,” the youths further stated.
The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that recognised Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP). In a decisive ruling, a five-member panel declared that the Court of Appeal lacked the legal authority to determine the party’s leadership matters.
In a unanimous verdict, the highest court in the land stated that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction over the matter. The panel observed that since the case revolved around the internal leadership structure of the Labour Party, it fell outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
The ruling reinforced the long-standing principle that leadership disputes within political parties should be resolved internally, rather than through judicial intervention.
The Supreme Court stressed that leadership struggles within political parties are purely internal matters. According to legal principles, courts should not interfere in such issues, as they fall under the party’s constitution and governance framework. By upholding this legal doctrine, the apex court reaffirmed that political parties must settle their leadership crises independently.
The Supreme Court upheld the appeal lodged by Senator Nenadi Usman and a fellow appellant, ruling that their claims were valid. Their appeal challenged the earlier judgment, arguing that it was flawed due to jurisdictional overreach. After thorough legal scrutiny, the Supreme Court found merit in their argument and ruled in their favour.
The legal battle also involved a cross-appeal filed by supporters of Julius Abure, who sought to challenge the decision against their leader. However, the Supreme Court dismissed this cross-appeal, declaring it unsubstantiated and lacking merit. The ruling effectively ended the legal contest over the Labour Party’s chairmanship, cementing the judiciary’s stance on non-interference in party leadership disputes.
Bitcoin experienced sharp fluctuations following President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, initially surging to $88,000 before dropping to $82,000.
By April 3, it stabilized around $83,000, with the broader crypto market down over 4%. Major altcoins like Ethereum and Solana also declined over 6%, hitting multi-month lows.
Analysts see the tariff news as reducing market uncertainty, potentially attracting institutional investors.
Despite higher-than-expected rates, experts believe the clarity could help Bitcoin regain momentum toward $90,000. Bitcoin ETFs, led by BlackRock, recorded $218 million in inflows on April 2, reversing prior outflows.
Kraken’s Thomas Perfumo challenged the idea that institutional interest stabilizes crypto, emphasizing that volatility signals demand for a scarce asset.
Some analysts viewed the sell-off as an overreaction to trade policy concerns, highlighting Bitcoin’s resilience as a store of value.
With ETFs showing strong demand, Bitcoin’s price may stabilize and rise, though market participants remain cautious, monitoring trade policies and economic conditions.