The Federal Government has said that its comprehensive roadmap on the transport sector is aimed at addressing the challenges in the critical economic sector holistically.
The Vice President Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo, made this known on Tuesday, when he commissioned 100 high capacity buses, procured by the FCT Administration under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment-Programme (SURE-P), which held at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
The Vice President who noted that the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration sees the transportation sector as very crucial to the attainment of economic and social wellbeing of the people said “the comprehensive roadmap examines the sources of attaining such lofty targets through a huge financial investment to be sourced through public sector investment as well as Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).”
Vice President Sambo stressed the determination of the Administration to ensure that the capital city had a world class transport network system that will connect it with the rest of the country, maintaining that “when completed, these transport systems will significantly ease the problems of accommodation and transportation in the city as workers would rather choose to live in the satellite towns and commute to work in these improved and efficient mass transit systems.”
While commending the FCT Administration for delivering on its promise to provide adequate and efficient transportation service for residents and visitors to the FCT, The Vice President charged the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company (AUTMCO), to ensure that the buses were “administered in line with global best practice and to embrace a healthy maintenance culture.”
Similarly, Arc Sambo enjoined the “public, who are the beneficiaries of this service, to reciprocate this gesture of the provision of brand new buses that would charge minimal rates by making sure you pay the modest fares.”
In his remarks the Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, who stated that the buses were fitted with state of the art facilities to ensure security, safety and comfort of the passengers, also boast of affordable fares. He also disclosed that the administration plans to inject 200 of such buses annually in the next three years and also plans to setup an assembly plant in Abuja for the assembly of these buses.
Earlier the Managing Director of AUMTCO, Abdulrazaq Oniyangi, disclosed that with the injection of the 100 buses into its fleet, it now has 392 buses, capable of transporting 100,000 commuters daily. He stressed that the company was making efforts to automate its ticketing system, stressing that it has zero tolerance to reckless driving.
Goodwill messages came from the Chairman of SURE-P, Lt. Gen Martins Luther Agwai (rtd), as delivered by the President of NURTW, Alhaji Najeem Yasin, Chairman Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi, Chairman Senate Committee on SURE-P, Senator Abdul Ningi, as well as the Deputy Chairman House Committee on FCT, Hon. Raphael Uzochi Nnanna.
Present at the event were the Governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada, , Minister of Tourism and Culture, Chief Edem Duke and the Minister of State, FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide. Also at the event were royal fathers, top government functionaries and members of the public.
