Rivers governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has formally commenced a free transport intervention scheme to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the residents of his state.
Speaking during the flag-off at the Rivers State Transport Company Complex in Port Harcourt, Governor Fubara noted that his government is aware and concerned about the hardship the fuel subsidy removal has caused the people.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, noted that introducing the free transport scheme was part of the social contract his administration has with the Rivers people who gave them the mandate to serve.
In his remark, the commissioner for transport, Jacobson Nbina, who hailed Governor Fubara, said seventeen luxury buses designated to ply various routes will carry people free of charge.
He noted that the transportation service was not meant for civil servants alone as students and other Rivers residents will benefit from it.
“We are going to use free buses; it’s going to create job opportunities for our people. Drivers will be employed, conductors will be employed, and other people that will maintain the car will be employed. So, it’s an additional employment opportunity that His Excellency has created for the people of Rivers state,” he said.
