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Moses Akaigwe
The prescription of a practicable solution to the intractable gridlock on the access road to Apapa ports in Lagos, and the attendant menace to the users, may be a very strong factor in the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) election scheduled to hold in November.
This is because a front-runner in the election and the former National Executive Secretary, Enoch Bakson Kanawa, has assured that finding a solution to the access road would be given pride of place in his agenda, if elected to lead the influential transport owners’ body as its President.
He flagged off his nationwide campaign on Saturday in the ancient city of Kano.
Kanawa, who is a lawyer and served as Executive Secretary from 1997 to 2009, lamented that the traffic situation has affected trucking in and out of the ports, in addition to adversely impacting on the economy, and should, therefore, be given priority attention.
In a statement on the NARTO election, which was entitled Here Comes the Authentic Leader, he vowed to aggressively tackle challenges like extortion, delays, congestion, predicaments of haulage drivers and inaccessibility to Lagos Ports by container trucks.
He said that as an owner of container trucks himself, he has been a victim of incessant extortion by touts and some unscrupulous law enforcement agents along the Lagos ports corridor.
“Through a careful study, we will examine the entire dry cargo transportation in such a way to guarantee conductive operations for profitability and the good of the national economy,” the legal practitioner who is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, said.
Also part of Kanawa’s agenda is to explore a suitable model of road concession, like Build Own Operate and Transfer {BOOT}, Public Private Partnership {PPP}, Build Operate and Transfer {BOT}, and Landlord Tenant Relationship. He explained that whatever form of project financing recommended by NARTO would be towards improving road infrastructure, safety, reduction of carnage on the highway, and for reduction of cost of maintenance and operation of vehicles.
This will be in addition to monitoring the award of contracts for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of all our highways to ensure compliance with standard or specifications, timely completion and value for money.
“In conjunction with the Nigeria Police, we will set up NARTO highway patrol and monitoring team to check the activities of truck hijacking, reckless driving, general insecurity on our highways for the benefit of members,” he disclosed, even as he hinted of plans for the establishment of National Truck Driving and Technical Academy in the northern and southern parts of the country.
The NARTO presidential aspirant also pledged to seek waiver of duties for the importation of trucks spare parts, tyres and other vehicle accessories for members.
The 1990 bachelor’s degree holder in Civil Law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, is currently a Director Government and Public Affairs in MRS Oil and Gas Company Limited.
As the Executive Secretary of NARTO for 12 years, Kanawa worked with the leadership and the secretariat staff to position the association as a force to reckon with in the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy.
For instance, he helped to secure a place of permanent relevance in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC/Pipelines and Product Marketing Company PPMC; Federal Roads Maintenance Agency {FERMA}; Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency {PPPRA}; the Petroleum Equalisation Fund {PEF}; the Nigeria Police Force; Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC; Nigeria Ports Authority; Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture NACCIMA; Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, and others.
He, however, argues that NARTO deserves a representation in the governing board and council of government parastatals, such as the FRSC, PEF, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board {NCDMB}, National Automotive Design and Development Council {NADDC} – starting with the granting of observer status and subsequently, actual bona fide membership.
