• Says vehicles wasting fuel without passengers
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The subsidy palliative buses rolled out by the Osun State Government to cushion the effect of hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy have been retrieved from the roads, an investigation has shown.
Governor Ademola Adeleke had on November 21, 2023 announced the roll out of 19 buses christened “Imole Bus” to convey residents of Osogbo, the state capital, at a cheaper rate.
The state government in a statement said the buses were to specifically convey civil servants, students, and the poorest of the poor residents of the state to their various destinations at a token amount, which in turn, would be used by the government from time to time for the smooth running and maintenance of the buses.
The government disclosed that virtually all the buses used to convey students during the tenure of former governor Rauf Aregbesola, due to their poor condition cost a total sum of N25,274,288 million to ensure their roadworthiness to be able to carry out the new services of conveyance of people.
The statement said Osogbo the Osun state capital had five of the buses officially assigned to it for earmarked routes. Ede, Iwo, and Ikirun had two each while the people of Ife/ Modakeke and Ilesha had three each. The two remaining buses were kept on standby for other contingencies that might likely come up from time to time.
The buses had started working and conveying passengers at N50 lower to the commercial intra-city mini busses. However, Sunday Sun observed that the buses had been retrieved from the roads since December.
The buses were parked in front of the Ministry of Works and Transport, State Secretariat, Abere.
Sunday Sun learnt from a source, who requested not to be identified in print, that the buses could not be maintained with the money realized from them, hence their retrieval.
When contacted, the Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Sesan Oyedele, said the state government could not be wasting fuel because there were no passengers.
He promised that the buses would return to the roads very soon in Osogbo, Ede, and Ife while efforts would be made to extend its services to other towns.