Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, has launched a solar-powered campus tricycle shuttle service to provide affordable transportation, improve mobility and enhance security for staff and students.

The shuttle service was inaugurated at the university’s Senate Building by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Muhammed Suleiman Audu, alongside the Vice-Chancellor, Salisu Ogbo Usman, principal officers, staff, students and members of the Tricycle Operators Association of Nigeria (TOAN).

Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor described the initiative as a significant step towards improving the welfare of the university community through accessible, affordable and environmentally friendly transportation.

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He said: “The solar-powered tricycles will provide a cheaper means of commuting within the campus while complementing the operations of commercial motorcycle riders as part of efforts to strengthen security and ease movement”.

Usman commended the facilitator of the project, Isah Emmanuel Ojodunwene, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, for supporting the university’s drive to create a more conducive learning environment, just as he urged the operators to uphold professionalism, maintain the tricycles properly and provide safe, reliable and responsible transportation services.

He also called on members of the association to remain united and contribute to the peaceful and orderly development of the institution.

Ogbo Usman equally expressed appreciation to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his continued support for the university and acknowledged the immediate past governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, for his sustained encouragement and confidence in the institution’s leadership.

Earlier, Ahmed Sadiq Achemaje, the Kogi State chairman of TOAN, described the initiative as the first organised campus tricycle shuttle service since the establishment of the university.

Achemaje, an alumnus of PAAU, pledged that operators under the scheme would comply fully with the university’s regulations while providing safe, responsible and student-friendly transportation services, adding that all tricycles operating under the scheme would be painted in the university’s official colours to distinguish them from commercial tricycles operating outside the campus.

In his remarks, the Pro-Chancellor commended Governor Ododo and former governor Bello for their support for the institution’s development.

He said that the Vice Chancellor had continued to justify the confidence reposed in him through initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure, security, academic excellence and the welfare of staff and students.

Audu also commended the TOAN chairman for mobilising members of the association to support the growth of their alma mater, just as he expressed confidence that the solar-powered shuttle service would improve transportation, strengthen campus security and further enhance the university’s learning environment before officially inaugurating the scheme.