Plateau’s 300 cabs for distribution next week

Category: News Published on Thursday, 28 February 2013 00:24 Written by Onimisi Alao, Jos

The Plateau State government said yesterday that 300 new Hyundai cars which it acquired last year to be used as cabs in and around the state capital, Jos, will be distributed to beneficiaries no later than next week.

The state Commissioner of Transport, Mallam Abdulhamid Ghamzaki, who disclosed this to journalists, said the wait for the new cabs, valued at N3.6 million each, was over as Governor Jonah Jang has instructed that the cars should be released without further delay.

“The governor gave a one-week deadline towards last weekend and if there are hitches that will make it impossible for the cabs to be released before the end of this week, we will need to readjust the distribution date and go back to the governor with explanation, but further delay should not be more than a few days,” Ghamzaki said.

The new cars, painted in Plateau State’s green-yellow-green taxi colours and assembled at the Plateau State Government House in Rayfield since last year, have long been expected to be given out, but the cars remain parked, prompting speculations that that the cars are being kept to be used as campaign baits for the local government elections.

Ghamzaki however said that there was no truth in that speculation, adding, “The reason for not giving them out before has been that potential beneficiaries have had to be screened and re-screened”.

Ghamzaki further stated that the screening and allocation committees were almost done with their work.