Tinubu tasks northern govts on poverty eradication, insecurity

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ALL Progressives Congress (APC) leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu has challenged northern state governments to embark on development and poverty eradication programmes capable of addressing the insecurity in the region.

Tinubu, who was the Guest of Honour at the launching of over 200 taxi cars procured by the Kaduna State Government as part of the empowerment scheme for the unemployed youths, said that the only way the government can adequately fight terrorism and crime is through engaging the youths on gainful jobs.

While commissioning the Peugeot and KIA brand new taxi cars distributed to youths of the state at the Murtala Muhammed Square yesterday, Tinubu said: “I am greatly honoured to be part of this empowerment scheme for the people by the government, in fact this is a proactive effort geared at job creation.”

“The Kaduna Cab Scheme is a long overdue initiative. And now that a people-oriented government is in charge, we are beginning to see not just bold ideas, but equally bold moves. I have been made to understand that the Kaduna Green Cabs Programme is an initiative to revive taxi services in the state, using modern cars and well-trained owner-drivers. It will also create a new generation of owner-drivers.”

“It is an economic empowerment programme aimed at not just creating wealth, but providing jobs and affordable loans to the people of Kaduna State. The advantages of this initiative range from the economic, to the sociological and security.”

Tinubu further stated “I salute Governor El-Rufai for this bold initiative and I challenge him to quickly increase the number of the cabs. Kaduna suddenly is blessed with a performer, a trailblazer and a committed governor. This time, no longer the accidental civil servant, but rather a prepared governor whose experience, knowledge and deep understanding of good governance can be brought to bear in governing the Kaduna people.”

In his address, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said “we believe that all the major cities in our state deserve a decent taxi cab service; whether to the airport, from hotels, or on our major roads, it must be possible for a passenger to commute in conditions of comfort and safety.”
“It is our duty to provide choice, so that a user can decide which means of transportation is best suited to their needs and pockets at any particular time. We can all agree that it is an anomaly that Kaduna, our capital city, does not have a functioning, organized and regulated taxi service.”
El-Rufai remarked that “the cab scheme is a means of creating jobs and empowering owner-drivers”, saying, “we hope that many of our young people will find owning and running their own taxi cab a fulfilling business.”

“And that is an important point. Our taxi cab scheme is a business.

Source: TheGuardian