A newspaper (not Daily Trust) shared a tweet on X suggesting that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, Peter Obi, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s effort to reduce interstate transportation fares during the last end of year festive season.
The headline on the paper’s website reads: “Peter Obi hails Tinubu over 50% transport fare reduction, queries implementation.”
The tweet garnered a lot of reactions that prompted fact-checkers at Daily Trust to check its authenticity.
However, an X user shared a screenshot of Sahara Reporters take on what Obi tweeted and their headline read: “On-the-spot investigation at Nigerian major parks shows transporters aren’t aware of President Tinubu’s 50% discount – Peter Obi”
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Other comments under the tweet asked the paper to tell the full story and not mislead the public.
Verification:
In a bid to verify the authenticity of the claim, we visited Obi’s verified X account to read the full thread that the Guardian quoted from and here is what we found: “I read the reports of the president’s approval of a 50 per cent slash in the price of interstate transport fare for Nigerians travelling during this Yuletide from Thursday 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024. The news report added that the president also approved free rides for commuters on all train services within the period. If fully implemented, as reported, I consider this first-time intervention of the government as intended to help the masses.”
Obi added that he took out time to inquire into the implementation across different cities but that he was disappointed.
The post further reads: “Today, I sent out contacts who consulted widely with the transporters in major parks across the country: in Abuja they carried out on-the-spot investigation in Jabi/Utako areas; in Lagos they visited major parks like Jibowo, Festac, Mile 12, Ajah and Mazamaza and none of the transporters in these parks was aware of this 50 per cent discount.”
At Upper Iweka, Onitsha, which is the main traffic hub in Anambra, and in other parts of the country like Kano, Kaduna, Owerri and Gombe, the story was the same, he added, saying: “The government has again announced the few transport companies chosen to participate in the intervention for which 28 routes have been designated. There are no announced forms of checks and balances to ensure that the transporters follow the terms of the contract.”
He further said that he prayed that it was not another spin to curry favour in the media space after appetising the people as: “The Nigerian people are going through untold hardship and the government must not remain insensitive to their sufferings.”
Further investigation on the 50 per cent fare reduction led us to finding a video online made by a popular transport company, God is Good Motors (GIGM), where commuters are seen applauding the government for the transport fare reduction.
Speaking with a Niger Line driver who wished to remain anonymous, he said, “The president did not buy the buses for us. Therefore, we cannot offer a 50 per cent reduction to commuters.”
Conclusion:
Based on verifiable information, fact-checkers at Daily Trust found that Obi did not commend the president for the 50 per cent reduction as suggested by the newspaper. The headline was grossly inaccurate and misleading.
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