President Bola Tinubu, in his Monday evening nationwide address, disclosed that his administration will roll out at least 3,000 units of 20-seater buses to ameliorate the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

“Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses,” Mr Tinubu said in his speech.

The buses, which are expected to ease the cost of public transportation, will be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) – a natural gas under pressure that remains clean, odourless as well as lead and sulphur-free, commended many times as a pocket and eco-friendly alternatives to traditional petrol and diesel fuel.

This move will also double as a significant investment into the country’s clean energy sector, potentially increasing the chances of large-scale exploring its previously under-tapped possibilities.

The planned intervention has a planned cost of N100 billion and is expected to be executed between now and March next year with private transport operators as partners. The president said the participating transport companies will be able to access credit under the “facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.”

“These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period,” he added.

This is the latest of Mr Tinubu’s moves to demonstrate that he is in charge of the spiralling economy, which saw an additional four million people fall into poverty in June 2023 due to inflation caused by his unilateral removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

Initially, Mr Tinubu had planned to distribute money (N8,000 per household for six months) to the poor instead of a real measure with immediate effects and long-term profitability. This move was widely criticised as economically unwise, prompting him to review the plan for more tenable ones, some of which were disclosed in his speech, including plans to generate a new social register where such interventions could be feasibly made.

The dynamics of the economy present new challenges to his administration, more specifically in light of recent developments in the ECOWAS region. Mr Tinubu is already dragging his feet in designating his ministerial economic management team and sampling public opinion may not power his ill-preparedness for long.