From Rashidat AbdulRahman, Minna
Niger State Governor, Umar Mohammed Bago has warned contractors handling the purchase of 200 Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, buses of nothing less than what the signed agreement specifies.
The Governor disclosed this at the signing of a memorandum of understanding MOU between the Niger State Government and four different transportation companies at the Government House in Minna.
Governor Bago noted that the first phase of the CNG buses will reduce the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.
The governor who supervised the singing said the main aim of purchasing the buses was to reduce the hardship faced by civil servants, students and the entire Nigerlites.
He also stated that the CNG buses will be free for students from basic to tertiary institutions, while civil servants will get discount on transportation fares.
Earlier, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Hadiza Idris Kuta, said that the state government is to purchase the 200 buses at about N7 billion, adding that all would be available within 12 weeks. She emphasized that the ministry will ensure effective and efficient monitoring of the buses .
Speaking on behalf of the four transportation companies, Muhammad Bawa of the Nation Wide Unity Transport, said the contract for the 200 CNG buses was shared equally amongst the four transportation companies, and assured Nigerlites that the buses would be of high quality, reliable and have a warranty of two years, as well as a ten-year spear-part availability.
The four contracting firms handling projects include: Topdesk International, Nationwide Unity Transport Limited, Afrobase Services Limited and Musako Motors and Transportation Nigeria Limited.
It would be recalled that Governor Umar Mohammed Bago had promised Nigerlites of providing 500 CNG buses for inter and intra-state movement with the aim of reducing hardships for citizens of the occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.
