President Bola Tinubu has commissioned 107 electric/gas buses and taxis in Borno State, as Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration works to mitigate the impact of the elimination of fuel subsidies.
Tinubu commissioned the fleet on Monday around the Shehu of Borno’s Palace.
At the event, the Nigerian leader hailed Zulum for the foresight, saying his development strides are innovative.
“Your Excellency (Governor Zulum)… this is exactly ‘Hope Renewed’. Thank you for your good job always. Thank you once again for being innovative and creative; for your concern about your people and the good governance you provide,” Tinubu, who was in Maiduguri for the 2023 Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference, said.
“We are going to take advantage of your foresight and proactiveness to at the sub-national level be able to start an assembly plant and add more value to the economy and bring economic prosperity to our people. You (Zulum) are doing a good job, thank you very much,” he added.
President Tinubu had earlier paid homage to the Shehu, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi.
On his part, Zulum said the move is part of his administration’s metro transport scheme and to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
“Mr President, after you announced the subsidy removal and your consequent directive to governors to provide immediate palliative, in Borno State we decided to invest massively in a mass transit scheme,” the governor added.
Zulum said the 107 vehicles were converted to use electricity and gas to help enhance the use of low-cost energy sources and cheap transportation.
The buses are made up of 35 units of 30-seater gas-powered coaster buses, 12 units of 15-seater gas-powered Hummer buses, 10 units of 50-seater gas-powered mass transit buses, and 50 units of 4-seater electric-powered taxi vehicles.
Earlier in the year, the Borno State Government bought 120 buses. Seventy-seven of them were launched in September to ply over 15 routes within the Maiduguri metropolis and Jere Local Government.