The Social Democratic Party (SDP) senatorial candidate for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olanrewaju Osho, has promised to introduce 20 to 30 luxury buses operating at subsidised fares within his first year in office if elected.
Osho told THE WHISTLER in an interview that the proposed buses would charge about half the fares of commercial vehicles.
He spoke against the backdrop of rising transport costs and safety concerns among Abuja residents.
“I can be able to, within one year, get like 20 to 30 buses working in FCT. Yes, within one year, I’ll get 20 to 30 luxurious buses working in FCT. And they will work for 50% of the price that commercial drivers and commercial vehicles will take,” he said.
Osho also called for a review of the FCT’s defunct urban mass transit system to establish why it failed and whether it could be revived.
“We used to have urban mass transit in FCT. So we will use oversight to look at what killed it and how it can be resuscitated and brought…” he said.
Osho said the FCT administration needed to examine past transport initiatives and coordinate different modes of transportation to serve residents more effectively.
He told THE WHISTLER that he submitted a 32-page proposal on multimodal transportation to the Federal Capital Territory Administration about 19 years ago after studying transport systems in Dubai, Birmingham and Washington.
He said, “19 years ago, I wrote a proposal to the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory, or now to introduce a multimodal transportation system in FCT.
“I gave a 32-page document. When they answered me later, they said everything I submitted was in the pipeline. That was 19 years ago.”
Osho said Abuja still needed a more connected transport system, despite the response he received from officials at the time.
He explained that the proposed system would link different modes of transport, allowing commuters to move between taxis, buses and trains before reaching their destinations.
“A taxi picks you up and drops you in a bus station. A bus picks you up and drops you in a train station. A train picks you up and drops you at the airport.”
The SDP candidate also linked transport safety to insecurity, citing the risks of robbery and kidnapping associated with informal and poorly regulated transport arrangements.
He argued that a better-organised public transport system could reduce some of the vulnerabilities that expose commuters to so-called one-chance robbery and kidnapping.
Osho, who started the Fix FCT movement, is seeking the FCT senatorial seat in the 2027 general election.
His campaign agenda also covers infrastructure, employment, agriculture, affordable housing and public services.
