Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has provided free train services to convey stranded passengers of the State from Lagos to Osogbo, the State capital.
This was part of the government’s effort to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the Federal Government.
LEADERSHIP gathered that hundreds of Nigerians have benefited from the Osun State government’s free train services gesture.
LEADERSHIP also gathered that the free train service from Lagos to Osogbo and other towns along the route came to the rescue of many commuters who had either travelled out of the State to Lagos or needed to return to Lagos and other various destinations after the New Year festivities.
Speaking with Journalists yesterday in Osogbo, the State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Mr Ismail Alagbada, disclosed that more than 500 passengers left with the train from Osogbo back to Lagos and other destinations after the New Year celebration when the sudden increase in transport fares left them stranded.
“About 500 passengers left with the train from here in Osogbo. These are aside hundreds of others who joined the train along the route to Lagos such as Ede, Ibadan, Abeokuta and others.
“The passengers were not only people from the State but those who managed to find their way to Osogbo from Ilorin, Ofa and other places, having learnt of the free train services being offered by the Osun state government,” Alagbada stated.