The governor of the state of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola has promised to bring an end to the myriads of transportation challenges in the state.
To this end,the governor said his administration is working at a veritable scheme of introducing bus stops and route mappings in all the major roads of the state of Osun, especially in Osogbo,the state capital.
Speaking through his Special Adviser on Works and Transportation , Engineer Hussein Olatoke, the governor expressed reservation over the recent hike in Transport fares in the state by the small commercial bus operators popularly known as Korope.
At a meeting cum interface which took place at the conference room of the Ministry of Works and Transportation,Mr Oyetola specifically sought their views and the way forward on the current hike in transport fares which he noted was on the high side.
Earlier, one of the Korope Operators ,Mr Ahmed olayoye who spoke on behalf of the Nigeria Association of Cooperative Transport (NACT) stated that the increase in the cost of transportation was not an attempt to exploit commuters but borne out of high cost of vehicle spare parts ,hence the need to jerk up the fares astronomically or else they would be thrown off balance,business wise.
Ahmed added "that in 2006 when Korope was first launched in the state of Osun , it was bought at the rate of between two hundred and fifty to three hundred thousand naira but now sells at almost 2 million naira" he emphasised.
Ahmed ,however, appealed to the state government of Osun to create a conducive atmosphere that will ,to, a large extent, bring down the cost of vehicle spare parts.
In his remarks, Governor Oyetola through the Special Adviser on Works and Transportation, Engr. Hussein Olatoke thanked the members of the Nigeria Association of Cooperative Transport for attending the meeting cum interface where they brought to the fore the challenges they have been battling with leading to the current hike in transport fares in the state of osun.
With an assurance that all the issues raised by the Association would be given an accelerated attention ,Governor Oyetola, however , expressed the view that the current economic downturn is not limited to the state of Osun alone but the country at large.
The Osun state Chief Executive used the occasion to passionately appeal to the Korope Operators to have a change of mind aimed at reducing the current hike in transport fares .
Hon.Hussien on behalf of the governor expressed the state governments resolve to ,as a matter of urgency, commence the construction of bus stations in addition to road mappings in Osogbo,the state capital aimed at cushioning some of the challenges being faced by both commuters and Korope operators.
Present at the interface cum meeting which lasted many hours were the Special adviser to the governor on security, Mrs Abiodun Ige, Chief Vehicle Inspection officer in the state ,Mr F.A Alli, the Executive Secretary,Office of Transportation, Engr. Billial Adiat among other notable figures in the transportation sector of the state.
It would be recalled that few days ago, the small bus operators in the state ,Popularly known as Korope drivers hiked the cost of their operations by as much as 100%, a development which did not go down well with the commuters .
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