In a bid to enhance and regulate the transportation sector in the country, the Federal Government said it will adopt the Communique from the 2021 National Transportation Summit of the Chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIoTA) as a working tool in addressing issues militating inhibiting effective transportation system in the country.
Speaking at the opening session of the 3rd National Summit of the Institute in Abuja on Monday, the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who is the chairman of the summit with the theme “Regulating The Transport Sector In Nigeria: The State Of The Art And The Years Ahead”, informed that the government is looking up to the Institute for guidance in policy formulation and direction.
The Vice President stated that CIoTA plays a very critical role in the transportation sector of the economy, while adding that the role of the Institute is to produce transport professionals who will drive the economy from the point of view of transport and logistics is enormous, hence, he said the federal government will look up to the Institute for guidance in policy formulation and direction.
Speaking on the importance of the transport sector, Osinbajo noted that transportation is the wheel that drives the economic sector of any country, but noted that transportation cannot serve its purpose unless it is available in a safe, affordable and secure environment.
He noted that the theme and the sub-themes of the summit are in tune with government’s thinking and actions, as can be seen in the massive transport infrastructure developments in the rail, road, maritime and air sub sectors. He said this is an indication of the seriousness with which the government takes transportation as a sector for driving the economic agenda of the country.
He listed some of the things done to drive the economy to include, the 186 kilometer Abuja —Kaduna Railway project commissioned in 2016 by the present Government which he said has created over 5000 employment opportunities, the 157 kilometer Lagos -Ibadan Railway project, the Kano-Maradi railway project, the Port Harcourt — Maiduguri Railway Project, Itapke-Warri the near completion of the Oshodi-Apapa Port expressway, the massive infrastructure development in the nations seaports, deep blue project, the C4i maritime domain security architecture among others
The Vice President, in the same vein, noted that the enactment of the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act 2019 is a deliberate action aimed at sustainable development in the maritime transport sub-sector in Nigeria.
He explained that the Act is aimed at punishing piracy and other offences in the nation’s maritime domain.
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Speaking earlier, the Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the President CIoTA informed that the 3rd Annual National Transportation Summit is another opportunity for professionals in the transportation field to deliberate upon the current challenges facing the nation in the sector with a view to proffer well-thought-out, meaningful and practicable solutions for policymakers and decision makers in the collective quest to make the nation’s transportation system more robust and more competitive.
He maintained that transportation is the life wire and life blood of any nation’s economy.
“Transportation is everywhere and it is everything. Transportation is on the ground, whether by road or by rail; it is under the ground whether by pipelines, cables or tubes; it is on the water whether by boats or large vessels; it is under the water whether by submarines; it is in the air whether by planes. Even our bodies have been designed for transportation or how else can one explain the movement of blood and nutrients from the heart’s pumping hub to the entire parts of the human body? One word: Transportation”
Jamoh who doubles as Director General of NIMASA said this year theme is a call to a renewed scrutiny, supervision and stocktaking within the transportation sector.
He added, “It is also time to take stock nationally of all the transportation assets of Nigeria. CIOTA pledges to play a supportive role in this regard. We are officially assuring the government at federal and state levels that the institute’s professional base is ready and at your disposal.
“We believe that proper inventory of our national transportation assets will address the following important concerns: what is our exact national requirement in terms of transportation assets in order to avoid duplication, underproduction or under-investment? We must first ascertain what we need to enable us fill in the gaps.”
He urged stakeholders to take stock nationally of all the transportation assets of Nigeria as he said CIOTA pledges to play a supportive role in this regard.
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