Umar Idris Shuaibu, Kano
The various changes in government policies have continued to tell on Nigerians especially the recent increase in fuel pump prices and high cost of living across the country.
This year alone, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has adjusted petrol pump prices upwards twice from N617 to N855, N950 in Lagos state (depending on the fuel station) and above N1,000 in other states within two weeks in September.
Despite these changes, which have tremendously affected market prices and the cost of transportation, Nigerians have devised various means of survival.
But the recent increase has not gone down well with some Nigerian workers’ Economy& Lifestyle discovered.
This has made them resort to resigning from their jobs or sleeping in their workplace to cut costs as they can no longer meet up with the increased cost of transportation which is digging deep into their salaries.
Mr. Dotun Owoyemi, who works on the Island and receives a five-figure Salary lamented: “I live on the mainland and work on the Island.
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“Before now, I spent N800 to and from my workplace.
“Now, I spend N2,500 to N3,000 daily.
“Those commercial bus drivers are not helping matters at all either.
“A destination of N200 fare, they increased it to N500. That of N100 to N300.
“I earn just a five-figure salary and spend almost half of my monthly salary on transportation alone.
“This is not funny at all. I had to resign from work because this N70,000 minimum wage is not functioning in all private organizations truth be told.
“This fuel price increase pays a few people not salary earners.
“If you visit the market today, you will marvel at the negative effect of this new policy on the prices of goods.
“Many businesses have tagged the cost of fuel to the recent increase in the price of goods and services.
“I am still looking for a job on the mainland that is close to my house and will spend less transport fare compared to my previous workplace.”
Miss. Sandra Douglas said:” I’ve resigned already. I live around Elelonwo in Port Harcourt and was working at King Perekule, GRA. I spent N52,000 for transportation in a month for a job whose salary was not up to N100,000.
“I was working but couldn’t feed myself.”
For Mrs. Dorcas Chukwuma, a midwife who works in Marina, “I worked as a midwife in one of the private hospitals in Marina but resigned recently due to the high cost of transportation.
“I was not the only one in my workplace that resigned.
“There were four of us.
“Living on the mainland and working on the Island is not easy at all, especially now that the cost of transportation has tripled.
“The cost of food and services has also followed.
“I just had to source for another hospital on the mainland where I can work and spend less transport fare instead of spending all my salaries on transportation just to work on the Island.
“It is a pity that the government when introducing policies doesn’t consider the masses.
“This fuel price increase has introduced more poverty in the country.
“We were complaining that people are suffering, now husband’s will no longer go home to their family daily because they have to cut costs, young and old will have to come out of their houses to beg because those relatives giving them can hardly fend for themselves.
“We don’t even know our destination as a country anymore.
“Our government has failed us.”
Apart from resigning from jobs, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, who works in Lekki said he now sleeps in the office during the week and returns home on Fridays to cut transportation costs.
“I work in Lekki and live in Abule Ado. Within two weeks of the increased fuel price, my transportation fare grew from N2,000 a day to N4,000.
“ I don’t receive up to N100,000 salary in a month.
“So I started sleeping in the office on weekdays and going back home on weekends.
“It is so ridiculous because these private companies are also struggling to survive and cannot increase salaries.
“If private companies implement the so-called N70,000 minimum wage, many employees will lose their jobs.
“Except for companies that are resilient to all the effects of these economic policies which I doubt are in existence.”