We’re operating blindly in transport sector – CIOTA president

The President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA), Prince Segun Obayendo, has described Nigeria’s transport sector as a blind sector because of the absence of a policy.

Daily Trust reports that over the last decade, the federal government has dilly-dallied on the National Transport Policy despite having a draft in place.

A former minister of Transport, Sambo Muazu, had promised that the policy would be ready in 2023. This was not achieved.

Our correspondent reports that the policy is expected to guide public transportation in the country and provide a legal framework for operators in all modes of transportation.

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Speaking during the maiden inter-modal transportation summit held in Lagos with the theme, “Intermodal Transport: Prospects and Challenges,” Obayendo declared that operators had been operating “blindly” in the sector without a policy.

He stated that the fact that the sector is populated by those in the informal sector does not mean that the appropriate regulation should not be put in place.

The transportation expert, however, commended the Lagos State Government for being the only sub-national to come up with a transportation policy.

He said, “We need to give it to Lagos State for being the first state to have come up with a transport policy. At the federal level, we are still struggling. The national policy came, drafted, we are yet to sign it into operation.

“Of course, we also do know that any sector without a policy is a blind sector. So for us in the transportation sector, having not been able to have a transport policy that all of us could relate to, we have been working blindly.

“It is this blind nature of our actions that has led to so many issues that have been brought to the fore here. We are talking of the waterways operation; we also talk about the aviation sector and we must talk about the road.

“I am also pleased that the NURTW mentioned quietly, succinctly and correctly that roads move 90% of what we call goods and services and of course human beings.”

He lamented that while the population is growing at a geometric rate, infrastructure is growing at an arithmetic rate.

“I think let us know for free that because the sector is more populated in an informal setting, the waterways too are not left out, the roads too are not left out, it is a predominance of informal actors trying to make ends meet but what stops us from ensuring that they are well regulated. What stops us from ensuring that these human beings are well-licensed?

“What stops us from ensuring that they are well certificated? What stops us from ensuring that they are well trained? Not just because they just became operators either in the water sector or road sector.

“Where we cannot have quackery is the aviation sector, for example. That speaks to the fact that the sector is heavily regulated. If we have a semblance of that on our waterways and on our roads, we would begin to see a better network of commuting or what have you? If we don’t have enough professionals in this sector, we are still wasting our time.”