By Campbell Blake
The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has formally commissioned 57-seater internet enabled and air-conditioned buses to serve as intra and inter-city mode of transportation in the State.
The ceremony held at the arcade, Governors’ Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, is part of the vision of the Abiodun led administration to give the State a focused and qualitative governance and create an enabling environment through a public-private partnership, fundamental to reliable economic development and individual prosperity of the people.
Abiodun revealed that his determination to improve the transport system of the State led to the creation of Ministry of Transportation to implement his visions which berth the preparation of the State’s Strategic Transport Master Plan.
The Ogun Strategic Transport Master plan according to the Governor would maximise the economic potentials of the State through multimodal transportation, revolutionising mass transit across the State by offering safe, reliable and affordable travel options by Rail, Road, Water and Air Transportation.
“We are launching this Mass Transit Bus System today, as a Pilot phase that will start right here in Abeokuta and will expand to other cities in Ogun State. We are also developing a BRT lane because with the aid of a collaboration and understanding with Lagos State under our Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Cooperation which focuses on areas of Securities, Transportation, Water supply, Physical Planning among other things.
“Every road projected have been carefully constructed with the provisions of the Master Plan, the state have constructed over 300km roads in 20 Local governments of the States. It is that same Master Plan that has guided us in the construction of our highways that our people have witnessed across the length and breadth of the State. We launch today the internet enabled and air-conditioned Pilot Bus Mass Transit towards a renewed intra and Inter-city transport system alongside the master plan which is part of the State’s Strategic master Plan”, Abiodun said.
Earlier in his address, the Minister for Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi appreciated the government for the initiative and deeming it fit to create a Ministry of Transportation which is highly important in any State, disclosing that Ogun is a Gateway State with lots of opportunities out of which is the railway project which passes through the State making it a good destination for both local and foreign investors.
“There is nowhere any individual will go to without the need of transportation, when you alight from a train, the next thing is to transport yourself either by feet or road. Transportation is simply like the blood flowing in our human system, it is something we cannot do away with”, Amaechi noted.
In his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Engr. Gbenga Dairo commended the Governor for transforming the former Bureau of Transportation (BOT) into a full-fledged Ministry of Transportation which led to the success of the launch of both the State’s strategic Master plan and the Gateway Bus flag off.
Dairo said the State, which is the industrial capital of the country, is blessed with a government that is committed to making all the multimodal modes of transportation a reality, adding that the initiative would increase the prosperity of the State.
In his contribution, the representative of the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UKFCDO), Mr. Kayode khalidson, lauded the government for following the dictates given during the assistance offered with the design of the policy and strategy implementation plan, adding that the project would not have been a reality if the government had not provided the funding for its accomplishment.
