Nigeria slashes transport fees during the holidays to ease some of the pain of austerity measures

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A worker loads a vehicle with luggage belonging to a passenger traveling for Christmas, in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

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A worker uses a wheelbarrow to carry luggage belonging to passengers traveling for Christmas celebrations, near a bus terminal, in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

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People traveling for Christmas celebrations wait to board a vehicle at a terminal, in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

BY CHINEDU ASADU

Updated 9:19 AM CST, December 21, 2023

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s leader slashed the fees during the holiday season for several public transport routes in half and offered free train rides starting Thursday, hoping to ease — at least temporarily — some of the economic hardship caused by his government’s austerity measures.

Elected in May to lead Africa’s most populous country, President Bola Tinubu has introduced several economic changes, including removing decadeslong gas subsidies. The impact of the measures has worsened the cost of living for millions already struggling with record inflation.

Nigeria is a nation of more than 210 million people and also the continent’s largest economy but it suffers from widespread poverty, violent crime and religious extremism. The population is almost evenly divided between Christians, dominant in the south, and Muslims in the north, and Christmas is a national holiday.

Government minister Dele Alake, in charge of the solid minerals portfolio, told reporters late Wednesday that the government’s decision on the reduced cost of public transport fees comes “in recognition of the economic situation of the country which he (Tinubu) is working very hard to turn around.”