Residents of Imo state have resorted to trekking long distances following inflated intra state transport costs, resulting from fuel price hike.

C-Advocate correspondent who went around Owerri, the capital city, and its environs reports that the fuel price hike left many trekking to work on Thursday for lack of funds to pay the inflated transportation costs.

Some commercial bus drivers who spoke with C-Advocate blamed the fare hike on fuel cost, saying that a litre of fuel which hitherto sold less now sells for N950.

Chibuike Ugochukwu, a driver , said: “We spend almost everything on fuel. At the end of the day, we can hardly maintain our buses and take care of our families “.

Another driver, Mr Chidi Okorie urged the state government to intervene to ease the suffering of the masses.

Okorie argued that with increasing fuel cost, it would be unrealistic to expect transport costs to remain the same without palliative measures especially in the face of a rising cost of living.

The fare from MCC junction along Wethedral Road to Toronto was increased from N200 to N400, with short drops rising from N100 to N200.

Recall that the Secretary to the Government of Imo State, Chief Cosmos Iwu had, in a statement on Wednesday, warned that only authorized officials of the Imo state Internal Revenue Service (IIRS) are allowed to collect levies in the state.

This, Iwu said, was part of measures to cushion the impact of touting and overtaxation on the public.

C-Advocate therefore calls for an enforcement of the directive to ensure that touts do not take advantage of drivers and leave passengers paying the damages.

Also, palliative measures to cushion the effects of the transport fare hike on the lean pockets of the citizens will go a long way to reducing the suffering and restore public confidence in government.