Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday inaugurated 10 43-seater buses that would convey civil servants and pupils to and from their offices and schools free-of-charge.
The ceremony was held at the State Secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital.
Ajimobi said his administration would continue to make life better for the people.
He said the 10 buses, tagged “Ajumose Shuttle”, were part of the 100 buses and 100 mini-buses meant for the state’s transport scheme.
The governor said: “As we have said to our people several times, the power we sought, which the Almighty God bestowed on us through the electorate, is the power to do good to our people.
“We thank God that in the last 21 months, we have used the instrumentality of the people’s power to wipe away their tears. The Ajumose Shuttle will lessen the commuting burden of workers and pupils.
“We reckon that if we provide free transportation for workers and pupils in the morning and evening, we would have significantly lessened their transportation burden.
“This is the first of schemes that will ease transportation, not only in Ibadan, but also in Oyo, Ogbomoso, Saki and Iseyin. We shall soon introduce other measures that will integrate public transportation into the on-going urban renewal project.”
Ajimobi said civil servants are the engine room of whatever development is envisaged in the state.
He said: “This is why we are passionate about making life meaningful for our workers. A civil servant, who is well-catered for and whose existential burdens have been largely taken off by the government, will be useful as a tool for achieving the government’s developmental objective.”
Explaining that his administration has done more for workers than any previous administration, Ajimobi said about 13,000 workers had been trained and 12,211 teachers promoted.
He said 1,714 civil servants were promoted last year and typists were trained as Secretarial Assistants and Data Processing Assistants.
The governor said his administration has reviewed the housing loan for workers by 100 per cent.
He said: “For the second time in the less than two years of our administration, we have paid the 13th month salary to workers and the prompt payment of civil servants’ salary has become our policy.
“We are yearning to do more. We hope and pray that by the time we leave office, we would have made it difficult for any in-coming administration to lower the standards we have set.”
Speaking on behalf of the workers, the State Chairman of the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), Mr. Nurudeen Arowolo, thanked the administration for its worker-friendly initiatives.
