Robert Brown|Nigeria slashes transport fees during the holidays to ease some of the pain of austerity measures

ABUJA,Robert Brown Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s leader slashed the fees during the holiday season for several public transport routes in half and offered free train rides starting Thursday, hoping to ease — at least temporarily — some of the economic hardship caused by his government’s austerity measures.

Elected in May to lead Africa’s most populous country, President Bola Tinubu has introduced several economic changes, including removing decadeslong gas subsidies. The impact of the measures has worsened the cost of living for millions already struggling with record inflation.

Nigeria is a nation of more than 210 million people and also the continent’s largest economy but it suffers from widespread poverty, violent crime and religious extremism. The population is almost evenly divided between Christians, dominant in the south, and Muslims in the north, and Christmas is a national holiday.

Government minister Dele Alake, in charge of the solid minerals portfolio, told reporters late Wednesday that the government’s decision on the reduced cost of public transport fees comes “in recognition of the economic situation of the country which he (Tinubu) is working very hard to turn around.”

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Though Nigerians often see Christmas as a once-in-a-year opportunity to reunite with families back in rural areas, fewer people are traveling home this year as more citizens are forced to decide between traveling or saving money for basic necessities such as food.

In big urban places such as the economic hub of Lagos, transport fares have more than tripled since the government removed gas subsidies. Commuters now have to pay for cabs within the city with what three years ago would have been enough for an interstate plane ticket in Nigeria.

“This season has not been like other seasons,” said Ndubuisi Anyanwu, a bus driver at a popular Lagos park, lamenting the lack of passengers “because there is no money.”

The change in public transport fees will target 5 million Nigerians and last till Jan. 4, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said. There will be free transport on the three major train routes in the country in addition to a 50% discount when travelers use any of the selected five popular transport companies across 28 routes, Onanuga said.

While the intervention was welcomed by many, some criticized the decision to limit the 50% discounts to only five transport companies, saying this would limit the number of people impacted by the measure.

In the capital city of Abuja, Uche Udenwa says he will for the first time miss out on going home to his village in southeast Nigeria for Christmas because he can’t afford to pay more than double what he paid last year.

“I was looking forward to seeing my people this December but where will I see money to travel?” the 30-year-old trader said.

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Associated Press writer Dan Ikpoyi in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show that government minister Dele Alake runs the portfolio on solid minerals, not the ministry of information.