- CIOTA/stakeholders disagree on palliative
- Proffer solutions
From Idu Jude Abuja
As Nigerians experience economic hardship owing to fuel subsidy removal, the Federal Government of Nigeria has reiterated the need for the conversation of PMS to CNG to ameliorate the hardship Nigerians are going through.
The AG Minister and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation Dr Magdalene Ajani, made this call Wednesday I’m Abuja while declaring open a two-day Transport Managers Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Transportation Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA).
Dr Ajani, who was represented on the occasion by the Director of Planning and Coordination in the Ministry Dr Mercy Ilori, stated that the two-day conference is an auspicious time to discuss interventions that would ensure a safe, smart and sustainable transportation Sector amidst various besetting issues facing the sector such as the recent fuel subsidy removal, the inland waterways accidents in Kwara and Calabar States, the level crossing train and bus collision that occured in Lagos State sometimes ago and some other incidents and accidents that have occurred in recent times.
The AG Minister noted that at the last National Council on Transportation (NCT), Council created awareness of the Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme and presented the advantages inherent in converting PMS fuel to CNG. Undoubtedly, if 50 – 60% of our state-owned Transport Companies and private operators have subscribed to this conversion, it would have greatly reduced the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians. The onus has fallen on us all to take the bull by the horn to encourage Nigerians to subscribe to this alternative to fuel.
“You will all agree with me that the theme: Impact of Transportation Practices on Secure and Sustainable Mobility in the country indirectly concerns us as our practices (human factors) in terms of obeying safety signs, keeping to safety rules and protocols, timely maintenance and obeying other regulatory standards is the only way to achieve secure and sustainable mobility in our country.
“She said, therefore, that the vision of CIOTA to begin to regulate all Transport Professionals in Nigeria as stipulated in its Act is a welcome development, I, therefore, implore all Transportants to collaborate with the Council for the Regulation of Transport Professionals (CORTRANS) a body of CIOTA to carry out its mandate of regulation, such as ensuring transport professionals were equipped with relevant licenses to carry out any professional transport task. This will certainly place CORTRANS on the same pedestal as other
Sister regulatory Councils, such as the Medical and Dentist Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Nursing & Midwifery Registration Council of Nigeria, among others.
“As managers in the transportation sector, we can leverage our positions to cause a change to the various issues raised in this hall today, we should ensure we drive this discourse to a reasonable conclusion as Transport Professionals, operators and Nigerians as a whole, are waiting for the low hanging fruits of this Conference. I, therefore, urge us all to instil our wealth of knowledge and vast experience to engender realistic solutions.
Meanwhile, the President of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Administration (CIOTA), Prince Segun Obayendo, said CIOTA as a professional body, has made recommendations to the Federal Government of Nigeria on how to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians amidst hardship introduced by subsidy removal.
He said such objectives include, the need for Government to reintroduce the urban mass transportation system to ensure mass conveyance of the masses with low transportation fares.
“We used to have this system before and part of our recommendations is that we can through our contacts donate mass transport busses to help the country at low cost. We are ready for our own men and resources whom we know can run this transportation effectively and in the best way possible that can benefit everyone in this country. We have this as one of the recommendations. Enough is enough of abandoning some programs that have worked in the past.
“Secondly, it does not mean we do not have an alternative to fuel? Of course, we do. Here we should be thinking of gas, CNG, LPG and so on. These are meant to replace fuel and drive motoring, air transportation as well as water transportation. So we are calling on the government to expeditiously respond to the creation of a facility for the conversion of fuel to gas usage in Nigeria at all the 774 local governments across Nigeria. And as we are setting up all these, we also call on FG to empower people to set up dispensing facilities to empower people through job creation. We do not think this is difficult to achieve, we do not think this esoteric solution but rather a pragmatic solution that can be deployed immediately and it is something that is achievable within 90 days.”
“Price Segun Obayendo further believes in the capability of CIOTA in providing manpower in the area of expertise across the 774 local governments.
“Upon this promise, we are making ourselves available. And for us, it is a national clarion call, for us, it is an order to rise and rescue our country. We are equally calling on Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgency revisit the transportation policy which is lying at the National Assembly. Also, we are reminding the FG that part of our country is that we import virtually everything we need in this country band that no economy survives like this. We should empower local manufacturers, and the local automobile industry to give us what we need as far as transportation is concerned. Nigeria has become a dumping ground for tokumbo vehicles and this is not how it used to be in the past. We can grow above this”.
He said that the transportation industry, presently seems to be a dumping ground for not well-to-do people and such is being fought against to ensure proper regulations. He, however, disagrees with FGs’ sharing of palliatives as a remedy to cushioning the effect of subsidy removal. He said that CIOTA never endorsed palliative as it is never a permanent solution to the suffering of Nigerians.
“This is a shot time plan. But now that the subsidy removal has begun, we should look for a permanent solution. When talking of the so-called palliative, you and I know that Nigeria does not have a scientific database to implement the idea. So we are basically moving in a circle without stepping forward. But rather we believe that we create a permanent solution to our problems I said before that it is easy to make Nigerians have sustainable jobs at the 774 local governments using this palliative money to create job platforms for sustainable development.”
While delivering a keynote address, the Public Relations Officer Directorate of Secrets Service, Dr Peter Afunanyaekwe, that several issues including insecurity are hammering the economic value of transportation in Nigeria.
He recommended that Nigerians should embrace community policing to aid security agencies to fight the menace in the transportation industry.