The Chairman/Sole Administrator of the Pacesetter Transport Services, Dr Ibrahim Oladeji Dikko, said on Monday, July 21, that the Oyo State Government has subsidised transport fare for 5.88 million passengers under the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) between January and July 2025.
He added that under the SAfER Transport – an initiative introduced by the governor to mitigate the economic hardship facing residents of the state – students, pensioners, the aged, people living with disabilities and other residents enjoy subsidised transportation in the state-owned Pacesetter Buses on different intra-city and inter-city routes.
Dikko, who spoke while briefing newsmen at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, said that the Pacesetter Transport Services was able to commute 9.95 million passengers in 2024.
He disclosed that the state government has committed a total of N2.1 billion towards subsidising transport cost across Ibadan and other inter-city routes such as Ibadan-Iseyin-Saki route, Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso route and Ibadan-Ibarapa route.
He said: “Since August 5th, 2023, when Governor ‘Seyi Makinde announced SAfER, till date, the state government has spent N2,151,000,000 to subsidise transportation for the people.
“Between August 5th and December 2023, the governor invested N541 million in subsidising transport fare by 50 percent for residents of the state. We commuted between 26,000 and 30,000 people on a daily basis in 2023.
“In 2024, the governor invested N924 million and we commuted over 9,950,000 people in 2024.
“This year, as we speak, the governor has invested N686 million and so far, from January to date, we have commuted about 5,880,000 passengers.
“The public needs to know what the governor has been doing to put all those buses back on the road and to ensure that life is easier for residents of the state.”
The PTS chairman hailed Governor Makinde for transforming and reforming the transport company, which had become moribund prior to his assumption of office in 2019, noting that the PTS has experienced growth since he was appointed as the Chairman/Sole Administrator of the Company in July 2023.
According to him, apart from recording an increase in the number of functioning vehicles and routes, paying pensions/gratuities and also restructuring of the workforce for better service delivery to the masses, the company has introduced several innovations including digital payment system and installation of Closed Circuit TV cameras and trackers in the vehicles.
He noted that the Services currently run 39 intra-city routes with 55 buses as well as five inter-city routes with 10 buses.
Dikko stated that upon his assumption of office in 2023, the PTS revived 30 buses and deployed the same within Ibadan metropolis, while it deployed another 16 buses to the intercity routes, with a total of 46 buses deployed for the SAfER Transport.
He added that he was also able to reduce revenue leakage, siphoning of diesel, and diversion of routes by drivers as well as speed control, while the Services also went digital on September 24, 2023, by introducing the card payment system.
Dikko maintained that the introduction of the card payment system increased revenues from N200,000 to over N1.5 million in a day, noting that the PTS has recorded a steady rise in the number of subscribers with 262,000 subscribers recorded to date.
The chairman listed the installation of trackers on buses, fixing of speed monitors and CCTV cameras in buses as other reforms recorded by the company.
He equally mentioned the clearing of the company’s tax liabilities to the tune of N150 million, the payment of salaries without defaulting, acquisition of 20KVA and 250KVA generating sets, total reconstruction of the company and improved staff welfare, such as the introduction of overtime allowances, management meeting allowances and implementation of minimum wage, among others, as some of the achievements of the PTS.
He revealed how he has been able to expand the services of the PTS, which according to him, have earned more revenues for the state, saying: “Let me say this. There are other avenues whereby we have expanded to make money, because we can’t rely on 50 percent subsidies across all routes in the state.
“We have taken expansion as a core mandate, a mission. We have expanded. And that is why we have Lagos and Abuja routes to just augment. And also, we have introduced logistics services. You can send your goods and services to Ibadan, Lagos or Abuja.
“Also, there is an opportunity to make money from branding. You can brand our buses. So, those are ways we just augment and we have more profits.
While fielding questions from newsmen, the PTS chairman added that the Oyo State Government received a total of 30 CNG buses from the Federal Government and that it has since deployed them to inter-state routes, with the Ibadan to Abuja operations launched earlier in 2025.
He noted that it would launch the Lagos to Abuja operations in a few days, while the Ibadan to Kwara operations will follow in a few weeks, with operations to other Southwestern states to be announced later in the year.
He also expressed the readiness of the PTS to launch a CNG conversion centre as well as Taxi Transport Services for easy movement of travellers within and outside the Ibadan International Airport after the upgrade, as well as to and fro the train station, among others.
When asked about the controversy that surfaced about the PTS at some point, Dikko maintained that it was a situation of corruption fighting back, saying: “When we came in, PTS was nothing to write home about. I can say it boldly that between July 2023 that I came in till December 2023, PTS was embroiled in crisis. There was a tax liability of N150 million and they actually froze all the accounts of PTS.
“We cleared that tax liability in six months without going to the state government to help us, because it is a company and it has to self-run and be self-sustained. It is a must. So, we had to start working on how to boost the morale of the employees.
“We started paying back our gratuity and pensions from 1994. And, there were backlogs of promotions from 2009 and we said something had to be done so that we could, at least, boost morale. I can categorically tell you these facts and you can come and cross-check them.
“Then, we started introducing N50,000 running cost per employee to boost their morale. But you know that when people are rigid and they cannot change, believing that they are bigger than the system, there will always be a problem. So, they sent those petitions to the House of Assembly saying that I was actually siphoning money.
“Let me give you an example, on our interstate operations, as of today, we have commuted 38,539 people. There is about N160.2 million that we have made in the past six months. There are proofs. How do you want to take this money that was paid electronically out?
“So, the controversy came because we have blocked loopholes, blocked every way through which some people can actually steal. So, they started going about and painting different pictures, different scenarios. They went to the House of Assembly, they petitioned DSS, police and all that.
“But when these people did their investigations, they saw that it was the accusers that were painting another picture.
“So, for me, I am standing by the truth. There is nothing to hide. All money made in PTS is electronically made. And, you cannot remove anything.”
The PTS chairman was accompanied to the press briefing by Mr. Aremu Taofeek, Director of Finance and Account and Mr. Mukhtar Azeez, Director of Business Planning and Financial Analysis.
