he Congress of Nigerian Political Parties, Kwara
State chapter, has condemned the recent fare hike by commercial taxi
drivers in Kwara State.
The drivers had, after a six-hour strike last Monday in Ilorin, increased the fare from N30 per drop to N50.
They
had said the hike was as a result of an increase in vehicle
maintenance costs and that it was also their strategy of appropriating
their version of the “minimum wage.”
However, the
Chairman, Caretaker Committee, CNPP, Mr. Lekan Alabi, in an interview
with our correspondent in Ilorin, said the action of the drivers was
condemnable and urged them to reverse the hike.
Alabi
said, “It is appalling to note that the drivers decided on this
condemnable line of action not because of any increase in their
operating costs but because they want to take their own share of the
workers’ minimum wage.
“When shall we stop inflicting
untold hardship on one another in our bid to exploit situations to our
individual advantage, without giving consideration to the welfare of
others?”
But the Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria,
Kwara State, Mr. Kayode Olawepo, said he would not condemn the drivers’
action, arguing that they were exercising their fundamental human
rights. Olawepo said, “In free enterprise, there is freedom of
negotiation.
“Every union can negotiate what is good for
them. If the government of the day could not intervene to prevent them
from doing it, and since it is the exercise of their own freedom, I may
not condemn them.
“The taxi drivers have exercised their
freedom to negotiate their prices. Government can introduce mass transit
busses that will charge a less fare. Definitely, if government
introduces mass transit, fares will come down. This will make life
better for the people.”
Punch
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CNPP, ACN differ over fare hike
CNPP, ACN differ over fare hike
NigerianEye
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Sunday, September 18, 2011
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