By Peace Erewunmi

The recent meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has raised an important question about how Nigeria approaches national problems.

According to reports, the meeting discussed measures to reduce transportation costs across the country through the increased use of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, and electric vehicles.

The Federal Government and the governors reportedly agreed to take immediate steps towards reducing transportation costs, particularly for intra-state transportation.

This is a welcome idea.

Nigerians are currently dealing with the high cost of transportation, which continues to affect workers, students, traders and families. Since transportation costs influence the prices of food and other essential goods, any genuine effort to reduce fares deserves serious attention.

However, there is an important question that should not be ignored:

If transportation costs are a national problem affecting Nigerians in every state, why should the discussion appear to be limited to governors from one political party?

The cost of living does not ask whether a governor is a member of the APC, PDP, Labour Party or any other political party.

A Nigerian living in a state governed by an opposition party also pays transport fares.

Students do not pay different transportation costs because of the political party governing their state.

Traders do not pay more or less for transporting their goods based on party affiliation.

Insecurity, inflation, unemployment and transportation costs are national problems.

They should therefore inspire national solutions.

Nigeria is a democracy, and political parties will naturally have internal meetings and discussions. There is nothing unusual about a President meeting with governors elected on the platform of his political party.

However, when discussions involve policies that are expected to affect the entire country, citizens have a right to ask whether all relevant stakeholders are being carried along.

A national problem requires a national approach.

This is particularly important because state governments play significant roles in transportation policies and intra-state transport systems.

If the Federal Government genuinely wants transportation costs to reduce across Nigeria, then cooperation should extend beyond political party lines.

Every governor should have an opportunity to participate.

Every state should have access to the necessary infrastructure.

And every Nigerian should benefit from policies designed to reduce economic hardship.

The conversation should not be about whether APC governors should meet with President Tinubu. They have every right to hold political and party meetings.

The bigger question is whether national policies are being discussed and implemented in a manner that includes all parts of the country.

Nigerians are becoming increasingly concerned about politics ahead of the 2027 elections.

This makes transparency even more important.

Government officials must ensure that meetings about national policies do not create the impression that public governance is becoming indistinguishable from party politics.

Nigeria belongs to more than one political party.

The resources of the country belong to all Nigerians.

And solutions to the country’s problems should not depend on the political party of the governor in a particular state.

If the plan to reduce transportation costs through CNG and electric vehicles succeeds, Nigerians will welcome it.

But its success should not be limited by politics.

The benefits must reach APC states.

They must reach opposition-controlled states.

And most importantly, they must reach the ordinary Nigerian who enters a bus every morning wondering whether today’s transport fare will leave enough money for food.

National problems should bring political leaders together—not divide them into party meetings and competing interests.

And as Nigeria approaches another election season, citizens must continue to ask questions, demand transparency and insist that governance remains about the people, not just politics.