Maigida Soludero Mass Transit: We expend N3m on diesel monthly – Soewu
…Generates N700,000 in 1month
By Mike Adeyemi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Kwara State Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Bureau, Mr. Segun Soewu, has disclosed that the sum of N3m is expended monthly in fuelling the fleet of buses of the Maigida Soludero Mass Transit.
The scheme, which was launched last year, is a transport intervention designed to relieve the hardship faced by commuters in Ilorin metropolis and boost commerce.
Fielding question from our reporter in Ilorin, last Monday, Soewu alluded the development to the rising cost of diesel in recent time.
He said: “Owing to the hike in the diesel prices, we now spend about N3million monthly on fuelling our buses.
“However, this challenge has not made us to jettison the primary role of social service the scheme is meant for”.
He noted that the transit scheme has evolved over a short period of time and is self sufficient, adding that the sum of N700,000 is realised monthly.
“We do not collect allocation from the state government, all our expenses are solely funded by proceeds generated within,” he added
The CEO further said: “We make about N700,000 monthly. However, when a scheme is a social service, you don’t look at the profit, but the end service.
“Soludero mass transit project is purely not a profit making enterprise, but a social service based scheme that is meant to mitigate hardship in the course of the day to day movement of commuters in the state.
“I think with this, we have been able to meet up with these goals. For instance, in the afternoon, we pick school children, elderly people and pregnant women free.
“At peak times, over 6,000 students board soludero buses per day. The state government subsidized the cost to make it affordable.