The Kwara Ministry of Tertiary Education has engaged stakeholders to establish plans for transportation assistance provided by the government to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on staff and students.
During an interactive meeting in Ilorin, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Habibat Saidu, revealed the strategies being developed based on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s directives.
Attended by AbdulRazaq Jiddah, deans of student affairs from all public tertiary institutions in Kwara, representatives from students’ unions across these institutions, and the state chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the meeting aimed to gather suggestions on assigning buses to strategic routes within the city to achieve the desired objectives.
Saidu emphasized that the transportation palliative for tertiary institution staff and students is entirely free of charge, cautioning against any form of extortion. She specified that individuals must present their institution’s identification cards to benefit from the complimentary bus rides.
Jidda urged students to reciprocate the Kwara government’s gesture by behaving responsibly and maintaining orderliness to sustain the free transportation assistance. He also disclosed that additional measures to alleviate the impact of fuel subsidy removal are being planned by the state government.
Representing the students, Yusuf AbdulGafar, the Chairman of NANS Kwara chapter, suggested that buses could be stationed at institutions in rural areas to facilitate transportation for students residing in those communities.
On June 12, the Kwara government approved the deployment of government buses to support the movement of students and workers in public tertiary institutions within Ilorin and its environs, aiming to alleviate the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
