News Investigators/ The Ekiti Government has commenced the deployment of 15 Compressed Natural Gas buses as part of measures to cushion the effect of high transport costs on residents.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Friday by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Yinka Oyebode.
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, accompanied by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, flagged of the distribution of the buses at the premises of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency in Ado-Ekiti.
Mr Oyebanji said the deployment, which coincided with Nigeria’s Independence Day and the 30th anniversary of the creation of Ekiti, was part of efforts to reduce transportation costs in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
He said the state had commenced the process of reducing transport fares by 50 per cent through the rollout of the buses donated by the Federal Government.
The governor said the government would continue to take measures to reduce the economic burden of residents.
Mr Oyebanji added that the state would expand the fleet to enable more people to benefit from the initiative.
The governor expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the intervention, saying the provision of the buses would contribute significantly to reducing the transportation burden on the people.
He said the initiative demonstrated the commitment of the Federal and Ekiti governments to improving the welfare of citizens through affordable and accessible public transportation.
Mr Oyebanji urged transport unions to ensure that the benefits of the CNG buses were transferred to commuters, stressing that the initiative was designed to reduce transportation costs by 50 per cent.
He said the government would monitor the implementation to ensure that residents derived the intended benefits from the programme.
The governor who also inspected some ongoing projects in different parts of the state, commended the economic policies of the Tinubu administration, saying they had provided more resources for states to implement programmes and projects with direct impact on the people.
Mr Oyebanji said the President had challenged state governors to find ways at reducing transportation costs from Oct. 1, noting that the deployment of the 15 buses was a pilot phase of the initiative.
He said the buses would be distributed to transport unions while the Ekiti State Transportation Agency would oversee the operations.
The Director-General of the Ekiti Transportation Agency, Mr Tajudeen Akingbolu, said routes had been mapped out for the CNG buses to operate from Ado-Ekiti to Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha and Abuja.
He said the initiative would provide residents with more affordable and reliable interstate transportation while reducing the burden of high transport fares.
NAN