Makinde’s Homeboy Strides To Empower Oyo Industries, Procures Leyland Ashok Buses For Pacesetter Transport
The Oasis Reporters
April 22, 2022
By Greg Abolo
During the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo in the 70s, he laid out an ambitious industrialization program for Nigeria.
An anchor leg of it was to establish automotive Assembly plants, onto the path of manufacturing them.
While Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN) was established in Kaduna, North West Nigeria, Steyr Motors was in Bauchi while Volkswagen was in Badagry Expressway in Lagos. There also was Anamco in Eastern Nigeria, as Leyland was sited in Ibadan.
Nigeria thus produced Trucks, Buses and Cars.
Unfortunately, those industries collapsed largely due to managerial ineptitude and government inefficiency. Therefore when Obasanjo returned to government as a civilian president after 20 years, he met his legacy in tatters and he thought it best to sell the Automobile plants as scrap.
Private enterprise enabled a company called Innoson Automotive Engineering Company to set up shop at Nnewi, Anambra State under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi gave Innoson Automotive Engineering Company maximum support.
Since Nigeria needs automobiles, former Oyo State governor, Isiaka Ajimobi reached out to South Korea to procure buses for Oyo State Transport Company, called Pacesetter Transport.
Delta State and Katsina State thought it best to support Innoson Automotive Engineering Company in Nnewi. Thus Delta State Transport Service as well as KSTA (Katsina State Transport Authority) made Innoson cars and buses their flagship vehicles, patronizing made in Nigeria vehicles that were comparable in performance to foreign ones as well as being pocket friendly.
With the incoming regime of Engr. Seyi Makinde, there was a new dream and a new dawn for the abandoned Leyland Company in Ibadan. Now renamed Leyland Ashok Company, Makinde gave them an order to produce buses for
Pacesetter Transport Service of Oyo State.
This move by Makinde has thus breathed life into a formerly comatose company. The gainers are the Oyo people as Leyland Ashok employs engineers and other ancillary staff for it’s rebirth.
Oyo State Governor, ’Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, declared that the Pacesetter buses soon to be launched by his administration will provide a world-class transport service to the state.
We visited Pacesetter Transport Services today, to inspect the mass transit buses purchased by our administration. These buses will operate from the new bus terminals in Ibadan. We are determined to modernise the transportation system in our dear state. pic.twitter.com/AMdktCYbV6
— Seyi Makinde (@seyiamakinde) April 21, 2022
The governor while inspecting the Omi Tuntun luxurious buses at the Pacesetter Transport Service, Eleyele, Ibadan, hinted that the government wants to ensure that the Pacesetter buses remain at the forefront of the transportation system in Oyo State.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa indicated that the governor was received at the Pacesetter Transport Company by the Board members of the company led by its chairman, Mr. Dare Adeleke.
Makinde said: “We want the Pacesetter service to be at the forefront of our transportation system in Oyo State.
“Ibadan, in particular, is a nodal city. It came to be because people that travel to different locations pass through Ibadan. “If you have noticed, those traveling to Amsterdam always carry bags with an inscription of ‘see, buy and fly.’ So, very soon, by the time what we are trying to do succeeds, it will be good for all of us.
“It is you people working here that will make it work. I can only support it. Very soon, we will begin to see bags with ‘see, buy and stay’ inscriptions on them and that will eventually improve the economy of Oyo State and give us the opportunity to do more for the staff of this organization.
“So, I look forward to a modern transportation system in Oyo State, which is driven and led by Pacesetter Transport Company.”
The governor was also joined on the inspection tour by the Vice Chairman of the Company, Mogaji Oladosu Ademola, the General Manager, Mr. Akinleye Akinwole as well as members of staff.
All thanks to God Almighty and our dear Governor Seyi Makinde
I strongly believe that the bus transportation will improve a lot of things in the state.