By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Federal Government has begun moves to fundamentally restructure Nigeria’s road transport sector, with the Presidency calling for the establishment of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA)-style institutions in all 36 states of the federation.
The Technical Assistant on Transportation Logistics and Innovation to the Office of the Vice President, Dr Segun Obayendo, made the call on Thursday in Lagos, saying the proposed presidential initiative on road transport transformation would seek to professionalise, standardise and reposition the sector as a major driver of economic growth.
Obayendo, who delivered the keynote address at the 2026 Transport Industry Summit of the Transport Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN), said the absence of strong institutional structures across most states was one of the major weaknesses holding back Nigeria’s transport sector.
The summit, held at the Radisson Hotel, Ikeja, was themed, “Unlocking Nigeria’s Economic Growth Through Transportation Logistics.”
According to Obayendo, only three states currently have metropolitan transport authorities, leaving the majority of the country without the kind of institutional framework that has supported the development of Lagos’ transport system.
“The 36 states in Nigeria need LAMATA-like transportation systems in operation where all of them would be professional, well trained and with capacity. When this is done, the sector would attract funding into the sector. Whoever is giving you this money would be fully assured that you have the capacity to manage it,” he said.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s experience in Lagos, where he served as governor from 1999 to 2007, influenced the administration’s understanding of the importance of institutionalising transportation management.
Obayendo recalled that the framework that eventually produced LAMATA was established during Tinubu’s administration as Lagos governor, describing the authority as an example of how institutional planning could transform transportation.
“It is a pity that as a country, as we speak today, only three states are proud to say that they have established a metropolitan transport authority, and none has come close to the strides and might that have been achieved in Lagos,” he said.
He said the Federal Government was now moving beyond the traditional approach of focusing only on federal roads and infrastructure, stressing that transportation was a shared responsibility involving the federal, state and local governments.
Obayendo said the ongoing initiatives around Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), vehicle conversion centres and other interventions were part of a broader effort to transform road transportation.
He put the value of movement through Nigeria’s road transport sector at about N157 trillion in 2025, arguing that the sector should be treated as a critical factor of production because of its impact on virtually every part of the economy.
Despite its enormous economic value, he said, road transportation contributes only about 1.5 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, largely because of the high level of informality within the sector and the difficulty of tracking its economic activities.
“I am now part of the government, the era of lamentation is over, this is the time for action to be taken,” Obayendo said.
He disclosed that the presidential initiative would focus on guiding the sector towards making a significantly greater contribution to the economy, adding that Nigeria was still decades behind other countries in the development and organisation of road transportation.
He urged transport professionals to raise their standards, stressing that the sector required proper regulation, standard operating procedures and professionalisation.
Obayendo also announced plans for the development of a national land transport policy, saying orientation on the policy would commence soon.
The call for a comprehensive restructuring of road transport came as other speakers at the summit advocated stronger integration of all modes of transportation, including road, rail, maritime, inland waterways and aviation, to reduce logistics costs and improve Nigeria’s competitiveness.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the cost, speed, reliability and predictability of moving goods had direct implications for investment, production, trade and employment.
Oyetola, who was represented by the Director of Inland Transport Services at the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Paul Ganuwa, said port and waterway performance could not be considered in isolation because they formed part of a wider logistics chain involving roads, rail, warehouses and distribution networks.
He disclosed that, with President Tinubu’s approval, the Federal Government was set to commence what he described as the country’s most ambitious seaport modernisation programme in more than five decades.
The programme covers Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, Onne and Rivers ports, Calabar Port and Warri Port.
According to him, the intervention will include reconstruction of quay walls, deepening of channels to accommodate larger vessels, replacement of obsolete cargo-handling equipment and further digitalisation of terminal and gate operations.
The objective, he said, is to expand port capacity, reduce vessel and cargo-handling delays and lower logistics costs.
The government’s port reforms have also received international recognition. The 2025 Container Port Performance Index published by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked Tin Can Island Port 10th and Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, 12th among the world’s 20 most improved container ports between 2020 and 2025.
Oyetola also disclosed that the United States Coast Guard had in August 2026 removed its Conditions of Entry requirements on vessels arriving from Nigeria after 12 years of additional security measures.
He attributed the development to efforts to strengthen compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, improve access controls and address identified security gaps.
Beyond the existing ports, the minister said the Federal Government was working with sub-national governments and private-sector partners on deep seaport developments in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers states.
He said the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act 2026 had also established a permanent framework for regulating tariffs and charges, service standards, competition and the protection of port users.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation also called for the integration of rail with road, maritime, inland waterways and aviation, arguing that no single mode of transportation could independently meet Nigeria’s logistics needs.
The NRC Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa, represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Aderibigbe, said rail could help ease pressure on the highways, reduce logistics costs and facilitate the movement of agricultural produce, petroleum products and containers.
He said the corporation was strengthening freight operations and connections to seaports, inland dry ports and industrial centres.
Opeifa, however, stressed the need for greater private-sector participation in railway infrastructure and operations.
“Government alone cannot provide all the infrastructure and investment required,” he said, calling for private investment in rolling stock, freight terminals and logistics hubs.
He also urged stronger protection of railway infrastructure against vandalism and encroachment.
Earlier, the President of TCAN, Tola Adenubi, said transportation should be regarded as the backbone of economic activity because every product consumed or used in the country had a transportation component.
He said high logistics costs arising from port delays, poor roads, congestion, inadequate storage and weak coordination among government agencies were ultimately passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Adenubi stressed that while roads remained central to Nigeria’s transportation system, they could not carry the entire burden, calling instead for a connected multimodal network in which roads, railways, aviation and waterways each performed the functions for which they were most efficient.
