By Victor Ahiuma-Young
TRADE Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has said  it would within the next six months float a N5.2 billion transport company, in its efforts to build a solid revenue base.

President-General of TUC, Comrade Peter Esele, who disclosed this, said the congress had entered into strategic partnership with a foreign company in Brazil to import about 150 mass transit buses that would conveniently convey Nigerian workers to their various destinations at affordable prices.

He explained that in the business deal, the foreign investor was contributing 60 percent, while the remaining 40 percent equity contribution would be financed by the Nigerian Urban Development Bank,NUDB, on behalf of TUC.

Comrade Esele, who said the investment would  be in phases and was expected to start before the end of the year in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, would later spread to other parts of the country, especially Lagos,  Enugu, and Port Harcourt.

The TUC’s President-General who said the body had realized the need to set up and manage investments that would allow it function effectively on a national basis,  explained that the aim was to make life less difficult for Nigerians and also ease the transportation problems often encountered by the public.

The TUC President who gave assurance that the business would be successful, noted that the congress had carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the business working closely with Chapel Hill Denham, a financial consultant and experts in transport businesses.

Comrade Esele explained that the company would be managed by a private operator that specializes in transport business in order to ensure efficiency and disclosed that the buses would be run solely on gas

According to him: “One assurance is that we are very optimistic that the business would be successful. This is the only investment we will be looking at in the next three years and we know it would be successful. If we know that it would not be successful, then we would not have ventured into it.

The core operator is investing in gas so we will not have any problem with availability of gas. We are looking at the possibility of bringing in buses that can move between 70-100 people at a time. If the transport business comes through,  then we can pay all loans within five years.”

He added that TUC would in the nearest future come up with other programmes that would affect the lives of the average Nigerians.