Olusegun Adeyemo
Chairman and Sole Administrator of the Pacesetter Transport Services (PTS), Dr. Ibrahim Oladeji Dikko, said on Monday that the Oyo State Government has subsidised transport fares for 5,880,000 passengers under the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative between January and July 2025.
He explained that the SAfER Transport scheme, introduced by Governor Seyi Makinde to cushion the effects of economic hardship on residents, enables students, pensioners, the elderly, people living with disabilities, and other residents to enjoy subsidised transportation on state-owned Pacesetter Buses across various intra-city and inter-city routes.
Dikko, while briefing journalists at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, noted that Pacesetter Transport Services transported 9,950,000 passengers in 2024.
He stated that the state government has committed a total of N2.1 billion to subsidising transport costs across Ibadan and other inter-city routes, including Ibadan–Iseyin–Saki, Ibadan–Oyo–Ogbomoso, and Ibadan–Ibarapa routes.
He said: “Since August 5, 2023, when Governor Seyi Makinde announced SAfER, the state government has spent N2,151,000,000 to subsidise transportation for the people.
Between August and December 2023, the governor invested N541 million in subsidising transport fares by 50 percent for residents. We transported between 26,000 and 30,000 passengers daily in 2023.
In 2024, the governor invested N924 million, and we transported over 9,950,000 passengers.
This year, the governor has already invested N686 million, and from January to date, we have transported about 5,880,000 passengers.
The public needs to know what the governor has done to keep these buses on the road and to make life easier for residents of the state.”*
The PTS chairman commended Governor Makinde for revitalising and reforming the transport company, which he said was moribund before Makinde’s administration took over in 2019. He explained that the PTS had seen significant growth since his appointment as Chairman and Sole Administrator in July 2023.
According to him, apart from increasing the number of functional vehicles and expanding routes, the company has paid pensions and gratuities, restructured its workforce for improved service delivery, and introduced several innovations, including a digital payment system and the installation of CCTV cameras and vehicle trackers.
He noted that the service currently operates 39 intra-city routes with 55 buses, as well as five inter-city routes with 10 buses.
Dikko added that, upon assuming office in 2023, he revived 30 buses for deployment within Ibadan and 16 buses for inter-city routes, making a total of 46 buses deployed for the SAfER Transport scheme.
He also said the company had curtailed revenue leakage, diesel siphoning, and route diversion by drivers, while PTS went digital on September 24, 2023, with the introduction of a card payment system.
According to him, the card payment system increased daily revenue from N200,000 to over N1.5 million, with the service recording a steady rise in subscriptions, reaching 262,000 subscribers to date.
The chairman listed other reforms such as the installation of trackers and speed monitors on buses, clearing tax liabilities of N150 million, prompt salary payments, acquiring 20KVA and 250KVA generating sets, total reconstruction of company infrastructure, and improved staff welfare, including overtime allowances, management meeting allowances, and implementation of minimum wage.
He further highlighted efforts to diversify PTS revenue sources.
*”We have expanded our services because we cannot rely solely on the 50 percent subsidy on all routes in the state.
We have launched interstate routes such as Lagos and Abuja to generate additional revenue. We have also introduced logistics services for sending goods between Ibadan, Lagos, and Abuja.
There is also a branding opportunity, as our buses can be branded for companies and organisations,”* he said.
While addressing questions from journalists, Dikko revealed that Oyo State had received 30 CNG-powered buses from the Federal Government, which have been deployed to interstate routes. He said the Ibadan to Abuja route was launched earlier in 2025, while the Lagos to Abuja route will launch in a few days. Ibadan to Kwara operations will follow in the coming weeks, with other Southwestern routes to be announced later in the year.
He also expressed readiness to establish a CNG conversion centre and launch Taxi Transport Services for the Ibadan International Airport (after its upgrade) and the train station.
When asked about controversies surrounding the PTS, Dikko described them as “corruption fighting back.”
*”When we came in, PTS was in crisis. As of July 2023, we had a tax liability of N150 million, and the accounts of PTS were frozen.
We cleared this liability within six months without asking for state government support because PTS is a company that must be self-sustaining.
We also began paying gratuities and pensions dating back to 1994 and addressed promotion backlogs from 2009. We introduced N50,000 running costs per employee to boost morale.
Some individuals who resisted these reforms started sending false petitions to the House of Assembly, DSS, and police. However, investigations revealed that these allegations were baseless.
For instance, our interstate operations have transported 38,539 people, generating N160.2 million in the past six months — all paid electronically. There is no room for siphoning money,”* he explained.
The PTS chairman was accompanied to the press briefing by Mr. Aremu Taofeek, Director of Finance and Accounts, and Mr. Mukhtar Azeez, Director of Business Planning and Financial Analysis.