The inauguration of Ondo Sunshine Travels last week Saturday marked the successful consummation of an innovative bipartisan business relationship between the Ondo State government and market leader-Peace Mass Transit (PMT) Ltd.
Private-Public Partnership (PPP) isn’t exactly an unknown business model, but the PMT-Ondo Sunshine is the first of its own kind, involving a State government in a democracy, and a private entrepreneur who has guaranteed the enormous capital outlay, while the government provided crucial counterpart support by way of enabling the environment.
In the end, the people, the masses of Ondo and Nigeria at large, are the ultimate beneficiaries of this win-win marriage!
Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, who has nurtured Peace Mass Transit from a lowly two-bus start-up in 1995 to a multibillion naira conglomerate under a quarter of a century, never says NEVER!
He is not one to back away from trying a new business idea, except it doesn’t make good sense at all, or tends to have oppressive tendencies! Onyishi is one rare businessman that hates monopoly.
Most businesses thrive better on monopoly but Onyishi views it as anti-people with regards to the Ondo Sunshine Travels, Onyishi would not let the opportunity to serve the people on a new platform pass him by.
It might have required a bit of bending over backwards, and clearly meant venturing into new, uncharted territory, but he never fears to dare!
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The disposition and personality of the Ondo State Governor, Barrister Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akerelolu SAN, were no doubt compelling factors. The Governor too had clear ideas on how to render populist services, apparently drawing from his massive professional exposure as a human right lawyer and activist before venturing into partisan politics.
Ondo Sunshine Travels is conceived to provide jobs for indigenes of the state and create transport entrepreneurs through the Driver-to-owner (DTO) scheme pioneered by PMT.
Dr Onyishi pledged at the inauguration to spare no resources to ensure the Ondo Sunshine Travels delivered on its mandate to wit: avail Ondo people and all Nigerians at large a transportation that is safe, affordable, and pleasurable – typical PMT selling points.
The project is underway, and this is wishing Peace Mass Transit, Ondo Sunshine Travels and the Travelling Public, bon voyage!
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