Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, inaugurated 30 new buses on Tuesday to ease the hardship people in the state are facing in commuting from one point to the other as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.
Inaugurating the buses at the premises of the state-owned Yankari Transport Corporation in Bauchi, the state capital, Governor Mohammed informed the public that the state government partnered with an indigenous firm to procure the 30 buses for N480 million, adding that the amount would be settled within two years at the rate of N20 million per month.
According to him, apart from the buses, the state government will also procure tricycles and commercial motorcycles.
This, he said, is meant to not only create job opportunities for the people but also address transportation challenges in the face of the current subsidy removal.
Governor Mohammed, who is a member of the Presidential Palliative Distribution Committee, said providing other means of transportation in the state would also reduce the cost of interstate transportation, which he acknowledged has skyrocketed.
The governor avowed that the removal of fuel subsidy had brought untold hardship to Nigerians across the country.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Aliyu Sulaiman, commended the state government for investing in critical sectors of the economy.
Sulaiman then urged the management of Yankari Transport Corporation to ensure judicious use of the new buses.
