By Mosope Kehinde

The Oyo State House of Assembly, OYHA, has dismissed the petition written against the management of the Oyo State Pacesetter Transport Service (PTS) by the Association of Sacked Supervendors and Investors

The recommendation for the dismissal of the petition was contained in a report presented before the House during the plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mr Adebo Ogundoyin.

Reading the report, the Chairman, House Standing Committee on Transport, Mr. Babajide Adebayo, recommended that the petition be dismissed on the ground of lack of merit and substantive evidence.

Clarifying the incident that led to the petition written by the Chairman of the Association, Mr. Adebayo, disclosed that the Committee discovered illegal activities, collusion and fraud between the vendors and the drivers, which led to the termination of the appointment of the vendors.

“Before the introduction and implementation of the card payment system to streamline transactions, the company faced leakages in revenue with average daily income reportedly around two hundred thousand naira (N200, 000:00). Following the introduction of the card payment system, the revenue increased to two million naira (N2,000,000:00) on the first day.

“The engagement of vendors to monitor card reader machines and prohibit cash payments initially reduced the leakages. However, the vendors’ collusion with drivers on fare collection in cash led to further fraud, which prompted the company to terminate their contracts.”

Mr Adebayo said that the Committee also discovered that it is the Pacesetter Transport Service that is responsible for the payment of pensions and gratuities of its retirees and staff salaries.

The lawmaker maintained that it discovered that the activities of PTS are in line with guidelines of its operations and are subject to the approval of the state Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde.

He recommended that “the Executive Arm of Government be urged, through SAFER Program, to increase the subvention to the Pacesetter Transport Services (PTS) to support its subsidised service to citizens of the State.

“The petition submitted by Mr. Ibrahim Asiwaju Chairman, Association of Sacked Supervendors and Investors Oyo State Pacesetter Transport Services (PTS) to the House be dismissed for lacking in merit and credible evidence, the use of vendors system for revenue generation be terminated due to misconducts and the terms of engagement of contract staff be redefined regarding period of engagement and other conditions of service.

“The Management of Pacesetter Transport Services be urged to restructure its workforce and those who have been found guilty of misconduct and have been suspended more than twice. The Management of PTS be urged to design and implement a well-structured organogram that clearly defines reporting lines, job roles and responsibilities of all personnel. This will help eliminate ambiguity, prevent role duplication, and enhance overall productivity in the Pacesetter Transport Services; and the Pacesetter Transport Service (PTS) be urged to operate strictly in accordance with its conditions of service,” Mr. Babajide Adebayo said.

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