FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed

By Senator Iroegbu

The Minister of Federal Capita Territory(FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has said that the sum of N500 million has been set aside through the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P) as palliatives for thousands that will be affected when the ban on Mini-Buses fully come into force.

Mohammed stated this Friday in Abuja when the Committee on the Implementation of the FCT Land Transport Policy headed by the Permanent Secretary, Engr. Anthony Ozodinobi submitted their report to the FCT Administration (FCTA).

He said that the implementation of the new harmonised transport policy, which was temporarily suspended is in the best interest of all in FCT as it will help sanitise the transport system in the only planned city in Nigeria.

He also assured that policy will be carried out in such a way that it would not cause unnecessary hardship to the commuters nor cause unemployment as the palliatives will ensure that those who lost their jobs are re absorbed into the sector.

He said: "The planned transport policy is one area we must ensure to implement in order to secure us (FCT) from the vagaries of chaotic transport system. We don't want to cause hardship to our commuters but want to reduce travel time from the satellite towns to the city centres.

"In as much as we are banning the Mini-Buses from plying certain routes, we are not going to leave people (transporters) jobless because already through SURE-P, we have set aside N500 million as palliatives".