Date: 2017-06-02

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, ALHAJI ABDULFATAH AHMED, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KWARA STATE AT THE FLAG-OFF OF MAIGIDA SOLUDERO MASS TRANSIT SCHEME ON 31ST MAY, 2017 IN ILORIN COURTESIES

It is with great delight that I join you today to flag-off the Maigida Soludero Mass Transit Scheme. This intervention upscales the existing transport scheme, which involves Motorcycles, Taxis, and Mini-Buses, by introducing higher capacity Mass Transit Buses.

With this scheme, intra and inter city transportation will now be more available, affordable and efficient.

As the name implies, Maigida Soludero Mass Transit Scheme is designed to ease the hardship faced by the populace, especially students, workers and other commuters who are often stranded for hours particularly during peak periods.

The ten buses we are launching today were purchased for the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) through a credit facility provide by the Kwara State Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Bureau. The buses were acquired at the cost of N257 million, inclusive of comprehensive insurance and registration. In the coming months, additional credit facilities will be provided to the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the Association of Independent Marketers (AIT) to acquire buses that will ply other routes within and outside the metropolis.

These partnerships with stakeholders in the road transport sector are designed to ensure the efficiency of this mass transit scheme through provision of additional buses without depriving transporters of their livelihoods.

As you are aware, efficient transportation is not only key to public welfare, it is also germane to the economic and social lives of our people. Efficient transportation also enhances commerce by making it easier to transport goods from point to point, and stimulates development.

In addition, a reliable and accessible transportation system is a logical complement to the transport infrastructure prioritised by this administration. Having recognised these, our government started implementing transport schemes under our Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) five years ago.

We saw this as another means of boosting the transportation system while providing new platforms for the economic empowerment of our people. In 2014, we provided 100 Taxis to ease transportation across the metropolis and boost the livelihood of transporters.

A year later, we built on this by funding the purchase of another fifty taxis to enhance transportation and empower more transporters across the metropolis. Still under our MSME scheme, we have provided 193 motorcycles and 25 mini buses to various transporters based on request.

I make bold to say that our MSME scheme has created economic opportunities and expanded the livelihoods of thousands of our people with 60, 000 people benefitting so far.

Since it commenced in 2012, we have injected a total of One billion two hundred and eight million naira into the MSME Scheme, leading to a turnover of N3b as of today.

Today's launch of the Maigida Soludero Mass Transit Scheme is, therefore, the latest instalment of our interventions designed to boost the informal sector, enhance public transportation and economically empower more of our people. The Maigida Soludero Mass Transit Scheme will be supported by Second-Tier Bus Stops as well as this terminus and will be gradually rolled out to other parts of the state in coming months.

I urge the beneficiaries to ensure regular maintenance of the buses and drive safely in the interest of passengers and other road users. Let me assure you that our administration will sustain its supports for MSME as a tested route to economic growth, jobs and empowerment.

This commitment led to my approval of a 5-year tax holiday for new small businesses in the state. In this regard, I have directed the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) to begin implementing the incentives for start-up MSMEs only.

I am confident that these interventions will accelerate the informal sector by encouraging more intending entrepreneurs to start businesses without worrying about paying taxes until they are fully set up. I now have the pleasure and privilege to flag-off Maigida Soludero Mass Transit Scheme to the glory of God and the benefit of our people. Thank You all and God Bless

Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed,

Executive Governor,

Kwara State

31st May, 2017