It has been reported that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s End of Year Transportation Subsidy Programme has been a tremendous success which has benefited over 160,000 Nigerians across the country.
The Chairman of the Committee for the implementation, Dele Alake who on Monday disclosed this on his social media platform shared that between December 21 and December 31, 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) conveyed 71,000 passengers.
Recall that this initiative, was approved by the Mr. President on December 19, 2023, which provided free transportation on the NRC routes and a 50 percent subsidy on transport fares for passengers traveling on the 30 bus routes operated by Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria, ALBON.
The intention was to alleviate the financial burden faced by citizens, particularly during these challenging times due to the global pandemic and other economic factors, while the Chairman also said the buses under ALBON carried 77,122 passengers.
Alake who double as the Solid Minerals Minister added that 652 bus trips from Oshodi Interchange in Lagos carried 15,766 passengers. “These numbers demonstrate that a total of 163,878 passengers benefitted from the Presidential Yuletide Transportation Subsidy in the first 10 days of the programme”.
He urged the cooperation from both passengers and bus companies for return trips until Thursday, January 4, 2024, as the programme is still ongoing. “The success of this initiative exemplifies Tinubu’s care and concern for the Nigerian people, and we will continue to monitor compliance and provide intervention when necessary”.
On his New Year message, the Minister wished Nigerians the best of 2024 while pleased to declare that the mining sector is poised for significant growth in this year, aiming to make a substantial contribution to our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said, “In the solid minerals development ministry, we are committed to building on the reforms initiated through our ambitious 7-point agenda, which began four months ago. We are dedicated to implementing an efficient governance structure to transform the mining sector and ensure transparency.
Our focus on exploration of critical minerals, including the deployment of advanced technology, will be intensified with the aim of generating essential geo-data for global investors. We are prioritizing value addition and industrialization in the mining sector to create employment opportunities and drive economic development.
The Minister urged all Nigerians to have confidence in the ongoing reforms, adding that these efforts will kickstart growth in the sector, which will lead to increase prosperity and job opportunities for all.