Intercity Transportation Gets Boosts as Sokoto Government Purchases 1000 Motorcycles, 500 Tricycles
By Juliet Vincent
In its effort to further create more job opportunities for the teeming populace, the Sokoto State Government has purchased 1000 motorcycles and 500 tricycles to be sold to the people of the state at subsidized rates.
The gesture is part of many strategies introduced by the Governor Ahmed Aliyu-led administration to check youth redundancy and restiveness in the state.
This was contained in a statement Friday by Abubakar Bawa, Press Secretary to
Sokoto State Governor.
Under the arrangement, the motorcycles and tricycles would be sold to prospective buyers upon the deposit of certain amount of money.
In this direction, subsequently, the owner would be depositing certain amount of money monthly until he pays off the cost of the motorcycle or tricycle he collected.
According to Governor Aliyu, the purchase of the 1000 motorcycles and 500 tricycles would improve the intercity transportation demands, considering the rapid growth Sokoto city is recording especially since his assumption in office.
“The recent gesture would augument the Toyota Camry and buses recently deployed to serve Sokoto metropolitan areas with lesser fares.
“This is to assist our people to reduce the cost of transportation being experienced resulting from the removal of oil subsidy,high cost of living as well as the increase in the petrol pump price,” he averred.
According to the Governor, each motorcycle costs government N1, 275, 200 and would be sold at N300, 000.
For the tricycles which are of two categories, 250 are fuel-powered while the remaining 250 are electricity-powered.
Each fuel-powered tricycle costs the state government N3,600, 000 and will be sold at N1,000,000 while each electricity-powered tricycle cost the government N5, 800,000 and to be sold at N1, 500,000.
The beneficiaries of the electric-powered and fuel powered tricycles as well as those of motorcycles are to make deposit before given their tricycles and motorcycles and to also remitt certain amount monthly until they settle the loans.
In order to ensure transparency and fairness in the allocation and loan repayment of the motorcycles and tricycles, the state government had set up a committee that would handle the sales and also ensure that the laid down procedures are followed.
The committee is to among other things, develop and implement repayment plan, ensure that the loan beneficiaries are verified, as well as ensure that the allocated tricycles or motorcycles are not sold by the beneficiaries before completing their repayment.
Already, the committee has been meeting in order to come up with strategies to be used in carrying out their assignment.
Similarly, the Governor Aliyu-led administration has since inception trained hundreds of youths on various trades under the skills acquisition programme being introduced by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Welfare as well aa the Department of Community Development under the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftancy alAffairs.
The beneficiaries, who were women and youths, learnt skills such as pomade making, weaving, sewing, plumbing, electrical work and vulcanizing, among others.
They were all issued certificates of participation, working tools and cash assistance to start up business.
