Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has released 80 buses and pick-up vans in order to provide free transportation to farmers from their communities to their farmlands as a way of easing their burdens due to the increase in transport fares caused by high petrol prices.
The Governor announced this development on Tuesday while addressing farmers at a farming community near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
He said that the vehicles, which consist of 50 long buses and 30 pick-up vans, were released by the government in order to lessen the effect of the transport hike, following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
In his own words, “we are here purposely to support the farmers, you can see thousands of them have gathered, they could be up to 100, 000. Due to the removal of fuel subsidies, which although has a long-term benefit, the cost of transportation has increased.
“Borno State Government has decided to provide 50 buses and 30 pick-up vans to help convey farmers to their farmlands during this rainy season.”
Governor Zulum said that the buses were allocated from the fleet of the state-owned Borno Express Corporation, while the government will hire 30 pick-up vans to ease the farmers’ transport challenge. He encouraged the farmers to cooperate with the military troops, Police, and other security agencies that have been deployed to protect them.
The planting season has now resumed in the largely agrarian area of Borno State.