Kwara buys 100 electric motorcycles

The Kwara State government has purchased 100 electric motorcycles to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on public transportation.

The Commissioner for Works and Transport, AbdulQowiy Olododo, at the quarterly inter-ministerial press briefing on Wednesday at the conference hall of the Ministry of Finance in Ilorin, said the government is doing its best to bring succour to the masses.

Represented by the Director of Civil Engineering, Engr. Akanbi Mashood, the commissioner said the state is awaiting the delivery of 100 electric motorcycles, purchased after the launch of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion workshop and gas station.

“Kwara State has been able to commission a CNG conversion workshop and gas station, the first of its kind in the country, in line with the Presidential initiative on CNG to mitigate the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.

“His Excellency, through the Ministry, has procured 100 electric motorcycles, and the ministry is awaiting delivery in the coming days,” he explained.

Olododo also stressed that the state has completed no fewer than 75 road projects, with another 52 ongoing across the state, adding that the projects include rehabilitation, reconstruction, interlocking, and beautification.

Also, the Commissioner for Environment, Musa Nafisat Buge, said the state now wears a new look because it has designed 18 new strategies that have helped to improve the state’s waste management and curb indiscriminate refuse disposal.

“We are already noticing the effect of implementing these new strategies. Our road medians are being freed of refuse while the large waste collection bins, which usually constitute nuisances, have been removed from roundabouts,” she said.

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According to her, effective enforcement through the recently inaugurated task force has assisted in achieving results and also generated revenue for the state’s purse through the payment of fines by defaulters.

“The internally generated revenue of the state through fines and penalties paid by offenders has also impacted tremendously on the IGR accruable to the state,” she disclosed.

She hinted that “N50,000 is now being paid as fines following the review of fees payable by offenders by the state Assembly. No fewer than 100 persons have been fined and arraigned before the Magistrate within the last 2 months of commencing the environmental task force.”

Buge further confirmed that the ministry raked in N5m last month.

She also made known that the activities of the task force on forestry-related matters have been suspended to address grey areas in their operations. She said this will also add to the state’s IGR when resumed.