Gbajabiamila unveils free transport scheme

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated the need to empower Nigerians to thrive in their various endeavors informed the various decisions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He spoke in Lagos when he unveiled a free transport scheme for the residents of Surulere and its environs under its Gbajaride initiative […]

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated the need to empower Nigerians to thrive in their various endeavors informed the various decisions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He spoke in Lagos when he unveiled a free transport scheme for the residents of Surulere and its environs under its Gbajaride initiative where 33 short, medium and long buses were deployed to provide free transportation for residents of the community.

He said, “The purpose of government and indeed, the point of all public service, is to create the conditions that allow individuals in society to pursue their God-given ambitions, achieve success by the strength of their own endeavours and thrive through the best efforts of their hands.

 

“This recognition of the role of government underpins the Renewed Hope programme of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

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“It informs all the policy, political and administrative decisions this administration has taken since assuming office nearly two years ago.”

 

Gbajabiamila explained that the GbajaRide programme “is also a product of that determination to use the instruments of government at all levels to ease the lives of our people and empower our citizens to do more and achieve greater things.”

 

He stated that access to safe, efficient and reliable public transport services is imperative in an urban environment like  Lagos.

 

According to him, the buses will be operated in partnership with the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Agency (LAMATA) to provide free transportation to and from school for all secondary school students in the Surulere axis, saying this would ensure that “our young people can get to and from school on time and in safety.”

 

“Access to these services, especially for young children in school, for older people, for the less abled and for all those who struggle with their income, can be the difference between succeeding in school or failing because of a lack of regular attendance.

 

“It can be the difference between being able to get to the hospital on time to receive life-saving medical assistance or dying at home alone.

 

“It can be the difference between getting to a job interview on time or missing the opportunity of a lifetime.

 

“Parents in these areas no longer have to worry about providing money for transport or fear for the well-being of their wards while they are on the way to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon.”

 

He stated that in order to ensure the buses were not idle outside school hours, they would be made available to other residents for intracity shuttles “at a steep discount of 25% below the prevailing rates for all the routes where these buses will be available.”

 

“However, because this is a social intervention aimed at those who need help the most, priority will always be given to our senior citizens, the less abled, the pregnant women and women travelling with young children.

 

“I have said before, and I will repeat it, that building a working society is a collective responsibility requiring the joint efforts of all citizens. We have provided these buses, and our team of dedicated young men and women in collaboration with our partners at LAMATA will help manage this program sustainably and effectively.

 

“However, ensuring this program succeeds and endures is the collective responsibility of all the drivers, the conductors, and the passengers who will use and benefit from this program.

 

“Therefore, I urge everyone to treat these buses with the same level of care and consideration that you would ordinarily give to your own vehicles, and I pray that God will reward your diligence by granting you your own cars in due time,” Gbajabiamila said.