Governor Mohammed spends N500m on cars, keke NAPEP to cushion effect of Covid-19 in Bauchi
By Charly Agwam – Bauchi
Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed said he has spent the total sum of N500 million for the purchase of keke NAPEP and cars to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on transportation in the state.
The governor said this at the official commissioning and distribution of the first batch of 1,000 units of keke NAPEP, numbering 345 units on Wednesday in Bauchi.
Recall that Vanguard had previously reported that Governor Mohammed banned commercial motorcycle commonly called ‘Achaba’, citing health and security reasons.
According to the governor, the keke NAPEP tricycles which are being given out on the basis of hired purchase would ameliorate the sufferings of former motorcycle riders and provide income-generating venture for unemployed youths.
“To provide income-generating venture for our people and ameliorate the difficulty in transportation, we are providing 1,000 units of keke NAPEP, and it will be a continuous programme, like a revolving scheme to enable others to benefit from the scheme. For this project, we deposited N250 million for the purchase of keke NAPEP, and we have also deposited another N250 million naira in a microfinance bank for the purchase of Sharon and Vectra vehicles to ease transportation in our state.
“To be clear, achaba was not banned to criminalize poverty, it was with great pain that we banned achaba temporarily due to health and security reasons. The purchase of these keke NAPEP is not for profit-making, it is to ameliorate the suffering caused by the ban of achaba. We hope that beneficiaries will cooperate with our vision so that it will also benefit others. And I hope that the provision of these achaba will create empowerment for our people. I thank our traditional rulers, our religious leaders, and everyone who helped to make this a reality,” the governor said.
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