The Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has called on the Federal Government to concession all roads in the country to private operators in order to engender the needed standard and for ease of transportation for the road users.
Executive Secretary of NARTO; Mr. Aloga Ogbobo made the call yesterday during a chat with news men in Lagos.
He said concessioning of all federal roads would enable them to have the necessary facilities, because at the moment, government is not paying required attention and the transporters are at always at the receiving end.
According to the Ogbogo, transport is pivotal to the economic growth of any country and that land transportation is chief among the various means of transportation.
He added that 60 per cent of the 34,000 kilometres of roads out of the total 200, 000 kilometres stretch in the country which belong to the federal government are in a state of disrepair.
He said, "Transport is pivotal to the economic growth of any country and as far as we are concerned, there is no alternative to road transportation in this country for you.
"Of the 200,000 kilometres of roads that is this country has, Federal Government has 34,000 kilometres of those roads and of the roads is in a state of disrepair.
"Having said this, for me, even if we triple the budget of federal government, it will not be able to put Nigeria roads in order. So, my own humble submission is that the roads should be concessioned out to private operators or investors”.
Speaking further, Ogbogo stated that if the roads are concessioned to private operators, the operators would put the roads in order, illuminate the roads as well as provide operational and security facilities and the users would be made to pay for using them.
He added that concessioning the roads would help to gain time which will eventually enhance turnaround time even as other problems associated with the roads are taken away.
"The advantage you get is that you gain time which will enhance your turnaround, the security problems associated with bad roads is taken away, he said.
He also suggested that the government could set aside a national road fund into which Nigerians would contribute as they buy petroleum products.
On the recent plan to introduce electronic call up system in the port, he queried the quality of people behind the scheme; even he stated that all the relevant stakeholders in the trucking sub sector should be carried along even as he said that he had nothing against the electronic system.
He however stated that the use of trade fair complex as holding bay for trucks was not the right choice, stating that Lagos state is opposed to the use of the facility.
"It should not be a situation where we have mediocre seeking relevance. When you are dealing with people, what is their stake in the industry? Who are their members? What trucks do they have? Where are their offices? What is their national spread?" he queried.
On the task force put in place by the Lagos State government, he added that the purpose had been defeated, even as he recounted the ordeals the truck drivers pass through in the hands of the task force members.
He narrated a situation where some of the task force members were caught in the act taking bribes from truck drivers when the Area Commander and members of NARTO went on an inspection tour of the task force in their various locations along the port access roads.
He also explained how some of the drivers are subjected to corporal punishment for flimsy excuses or on revenge mission for what the drivers might have done earlier.
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