The Chairman and Sole Administrator of Pacesetter Transport Services (PTS), Dr. Salami Ibraheem Oladeji Dikko, has disclosed that the Oyo State Government has expended a total of #2.1 billion to subsidize transportation for residents across the state under the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative.
Dr. Salami Dikko made this revelation on Monday during a press briefing held at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, Secretariat, Ibadan.
He noted that the state, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde,
provided subsidised transportation for 5,880,000 passengers between January and July 2025.
According to him, the SAfER Transport initiative was introduced to cushion the effects of economic hardship on vulnerable groups including students, pensioners, the elderly, people living with disabilities, and low-income
earners.
He added that the intervention has enabled the use of state-owned
Pacesetter Buses on both intra-city and inter-city routes at subsidised rates.
“Since August 5, 2023, when Governor Seyi Makinde announced the SAFER
initiative, the government has spent #2,151,000,000 to subsidise transportation for residents,” Dikko stated.
He provided a breakdown of the expenditure stating that 541 million was
spent between August and December 2023, #924 million was expended in 2024 to commute 9.95 million passengers, and #686 million has been used from January to July 2025 for 5.88 million passengers.
Dr. Salami Dikko highlighted a turnaround in the fortunes of the transport agency, which was moribund before 2019. Upon his appointment in July 2023, PTS,
he said, embarked on an aggressive reform agenda, which has led to the revival of 46 buses and the expansion of service routes. Currently, PTS
operates 39 intra-city routes with 55 buses and five inter-city routes with 10 buses.
He emphasized innovations such as the digital card payment system launched in September 2023, which significantly boosted daily revenue from #200,000 to over #1.5 million, as well as enhanced transparency.
“We have recorded 262,000 subscribers on our payment system. All
payments are now made electronically, closing loopholes for theft and
leakages,” he noted.
Installation of CCTV cameras, trackers, and speed monitors in buses, payment of salaries and backlogs of pensions and gratuities dating as far back as 1994, reviewing the possible full implementation of minimum wage, overtime, and management allowances for staff, acquisition of 20KVA and 250KVA generators, and total infrastructure overhaul of the PTS headquarters.
Dikko also disclosed that PTS has ventured into logistics and branding services, as well as interstate routes to enhance revenue generation.
“We’ve introduced routes to Lagos and Abuja and launched logistics
services that enable the movement of goods between Ibadan, Lagos, and Abuja. These initiatives serve as alternatives to over-reliance on fare
subsidies.”
He added that the state received 30 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses from the Federal Government, now deployed on interstate routes.
The Ibadan-Abuja, Ibadan-Lagos routes has already commenced operations, while the Ibadan-Kwara, Ibadan -Osogbo routes and Lagos-Abuja are set to launch in the coming weeks. Future plans also include coverage to other South-Western states.
Additionally, PTS is planning to launch a CNG conversion centre and taxi transport services to connect travelers to and from the Ibadan Airport and railway stations.
Addressing past controversies and petitions filed against his administration,
Dr. Salami Dikko attributed the backlash to internal resistance against his reforms.
“When we assumed office, the company was in crisis, with frozen accounts due to a whooping sum of #150 million tax liability. We cleared that in six months without
government bailouts. Some resisted reforms and accused us of siphoning funds, but every transaction is now electronically documented.”
He emphasized that the controversies stemmed from his team’s efforts to block revenue leakages and enforce accountability.
“We’ve generated #160.2 million from 38,539 passengers on interstate
operations in six months. Everything is traceable. There’s no room for theft,”
he stated emphatically.
Dr. Salami Dikko was accompanied at the press briefing by Mr. Aremu Taofeek,
Director of Finance and Account, and Mr. Mukhtar Azeez, Director of Business Planning and Financial Analysis.
