The national president of the Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Dr. Kassim Bataiya, on Tuesday said many of their members have lost their lives because of bad roads and insecurity.
He revealed this on Tuesday at the 18th annual general meeting of the association held in Sokoto.
According to Bataiya, they had spent a lot of money in paying compensation, cost of litigations and hospital bills of injured members in addition to the cost of maintenance of vehicles.
While commending the federal government for the ongoing roads constructions across the country, he appealed for the dualization of Makera-Kontagora-Yauri-Jega-Sokoto road.
He also appealed to the federal government to upscale the security arrangement on Birnin Gwari-Kaduna road in order to stop the incessant kidnapping along the road.
“Our mandate is the protection and championing of the rights and business interests of our members. We pursue this mandate with high sense of responsibility, civility and decorum.
“We don’t encourage or support any form of violence and unnecessary conflicts with any of our stakeholders or sister organizations,” he stressed
He appealed to security agencies to continue to collaborate with NARTO in ensuring safer roads and good driving culture in the country.
In his remarks, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige appreciated the efforts of NARTO in sustaining the annual conference, hoping its outcome would strengthen the association and help maintain industrial peace and harmony in the country.
Both the representatives of the Petroleum Equalization Fund and Petroleum Products and Pricing Regulatory Agency also assured the association of their continuous support and timely payment of claims.
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