Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, will on Monday, roll out and commission the first batch of the state-owned electric buses at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Umuahia.
A statement from the State Ministry of Information, on Monday, said the introduction of the electric buses into the Abia Mass Transit Programme, is a carefully-considered response to long-standing challenges that have undermined public transportation across many Nigerian states. These challenges, it noted, include inefficiency, high operating costs, commuter discomfort, and environmental degradation.
It said by embracing electric mobility, the Otti administration has opted for a solution that combines innovation with fiscal prudence and environmental responsibility.
The Ministry announced that as part of the pilot phase, the government has approved free rides for commuters during the Yuletide season, reinforcing the view of transportation as a social service rather than a commercial luxury.
Confirming the launch while speaking at Streams of Joy International Church, Abuja, Governor Otti said the government has provided free buses for Abians in Abuja and Lagos to convey them home.
According to him, the first batch of 20 electric buses will be launched today, while the remaining 80 will arrive next year.
But, the Christmas bonus package of the state government has been criticized as a misplacement of priority, and a clearly ploy to deploy religion as an instrument of division among the Abia people.
According to a public affairs critic, Uzochukwu Ude, it is laughable that people were praising the State Government for sending buses to Lagos and Abuja to transport Abians home for Christmas, insisting that the gesture is not governance and that the government should stay away from religious celebrations.
Emphasizing that Christmas is a Christian celebration, Ude noted that there are other religions in Abia, noting that the purported buses sent must not be funded from the collective resources of the State.
According to him, the government evacuates citizens from a state back home only when there is a crisis that endangers their lives not Christmas.
“We accuse the Northern Governors of using state funds meant for Governance on religious activities, yet we are fully practicing such nonsense and some people are clapping.
“There is no reason the Government should be involved in Christmas activities of any kind.
“Is this the kind of change Nigerians need? Spending state funds on religious activities? This is madness and this madness has to stop,” he posited.
However, Mr Ngige Nwachukwu believes that social welfare refers to the programmes, services, and policies a society puts in place to support the well-being of individuals and groups, especially those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged.
He noted some developed countries that provide one form of welfare or the other during the yuletide, citing that in UK, Germany and others, winter fuel or heating allowances are given this season.
“The US government give food assistance to families during the season?
“It is wrong to say that when a state government offers a transport palliative, it amounts to misgovernance. There are Nigerians holed up and away from their villages for reasons no other than transport home,” he noted.
Also, another citizen, Nnamdi Ezewuzie, is of the opinion that supporting returning Abians once in a year to return home for Christmas will not deplete the state’s coffers.
“How much is the money? Something done once in a year and perhaps a gesture not done every year?
“During election campaign and rally, some state governments sponsor and mobilize various groups, including religious groups forthe campaign and rallies. They use same state’s fund to do this. If the same state government in their little moment to show humanity tries to be compassionate and alleviate the sufferings of same people of their states that voted them to power, it is no crime,” he said.
