Some transport operators said they are worried because they have not received any sum from the N10 billion COVID-19 palliative, six months after its approval.
Some of the operators are under the Public Transport Owners of Nigeria Association (PTONA), representing over 150 owners and operators of long-distance mass transit buses.
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PTONA officials said none of the members who had lost over N200bn to the COVID-19 lockdown had benefited from the federal government’s grant.
Our correspondent learnt that the association had scheduled to visit the Minister of State for Transport, Senator Gbemisola Saraki on the issue.
However, the minister on March 3, 2021, in a response to their request to visit her, directed them to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
“I’m directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated February 22, 2021, on the above subject matter and to inform you that the intervention fund for the Transport sector was released by the federal government to the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment.
“You may kindly wish to direct your request to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for necessary action,” the Minister’s response signed by the Assistant Director, Mass Transit Administration, Angela Keyede, said.
The officials said they had also written to the trade ministry on February 26 to request for the palliative.
However, they got a reply that the money has been disbursed as a one-off N30,000 grant to individuals in the transport sector including taxi drivers, bus drivers and tricycle operators under the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
PTONA officials said they protested this and wrote to the transport ministry on March 29, as they decried the attempt to lump them into the N60bn MSME survival fund.
In the letter signed by Prince Emeka Mamah, Deputy President of PTONA, they said the interstate Transport sub-sector is under threat of collapse following the losses incurred during the lockdown.
The letter read: “In our view, the N10bn COVID-19 Palliatives Fund approved by the Federal Government is totally different from an aspect of the N60bn MSME Survival Fund domiciled with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
“The N10 billion Covid-19 Palliative Fund was meant to assist road transporters to resuscitate their businesses that were on negative income throughout the 98 days that the country was on complete lockdown for all interstate passenger movement due to Covid-19 Pandemic.”
PTONA said the Ministry of Transport had clearly said the members were not part of the MSME Survival Fund.
“This is the confusion we are witnessing over the palliative and we have every reason to believe some people want to corner the money,” a major luxury bus operator, said.
Daily Trust, however, found that the only palliative other operators had gotten was the MSME Survival grant of N30,000.
The National President of RTEAN, Alhaji Musa Muhammed said he was not aware of the N10bn transport palliative but confirmed that few of their members got the N30,000 MSME fund.
“We had a zoom meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, where we informed him that those who got the N30,000 are not up to 50 per cent of our members.”
When contacted, the spokesman of the Ministry of Transportation, Eric Ojikwe, asked that our correspondent visited the Ministry for the requested information as he does not have the facts.
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