The federal government has unveiled 100 electric buses for federal civil servants, promising to ease the transport burden created by rising commuting costs.
The announcement has come after Nigerians have spent more than three years absorbing the economic shock of President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy.
Only 37 of the 100 buses have so far been deployed, with the remaining buses expected to be rolled out by December, Punch reported, citing the National Automotive Design and Development Council. The first buses will operate on selected routes in Abuja before the programme is extended to federal secretariats in other states.
The buses were commissioned on Wednesday at Eagle Square, Abuja, under President Tinubu’s political mantra Renewed Hope Mass Transit Programme.
Didi Walson-Jack, the outgoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, described the buses as her “parting gift” to civil servants, less than a day before the end of her tenure.
“What we have here is 37 buses, being the first instalment of the 100 Electric Buses,” she said.
She said transportation was closely tied to workers’ finances, safety and productivity.
“For many Civil Servants, the daily commute shapes their finances, their safety, their punctuality, and ultimately their productivity,” she said.
That is precisely why the timing and scale of the intervention have drawn criticism.
A promise delayed
When Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, fuel prices jumped sharply, while the naira was subsequently allowed to depreciate. The consequences spread rapidly through the economy. Transport became more expensive, feeding into food prices and household costs.
Without adequate protection, higher petrol prices pushed millions more into poverty and has forced them to cut spending on essentials such as education and healthcare.
The government introduced a new minimum wage that failed to match the scale of inflation following the subsidy removal. Even with the conflict in he Middle East pushing prices further, the government refused any cushion for citizens, allowing them to bear the full price burden.
That makes the government’s latest intervention difficult to separate from the political moment.
Godwin Essien, reacting on X, recalled that Nigerians were promised relief from the consequences of subsidy removal but said the promised transport intervention failed to materialise when it was most needed.
“Now, on the eve of a general election, the government suddenly rolls out 100 electric buses for civil servants and expects Nigerians to mistake this token gesture for transformative governance,” he wrote.
He described the initiative as “electoral cosmetics”, arguing that Nigerians had endured years of rising transport costs and declining purchasing power before the government introduced the buses.
“This is not the delivery of a transportation revolution,” Essien wrote. “It is electoral cosmetics.”
Another commentator, Ikechukwu Lawrence, warned that politicians could benefit from Nigerians’ tendency to forget past failures.
“These politicians understand that most Nigerians have short memories, they either forget easily or they just move on easily,” he wrote. “So don’t be surprised if they start praising the government for this 100 buses.”
The government’s argument is that the programme is about more than buses. John Owan Enoh, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, described it as an intervention combining workers’ welfare, productivity, industrialisation and technology.
He said each bus could carry up to 200 passengers and travel at least 200 kilometres on a full charge.
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