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From Idu Jude, Abuja
As Nigerians experience economic hardship owing to fuel Subsidy removal, Federal Government has reiterated the need for the conversation of petrol engines to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to ameliorate the hardship Nigerians are going through.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani, made the call Wednesday in Abuja while declaring open a two day Transport Managers Conference organized by the Chartered institute of Transportation Administration of Nigeria CIOTA.
Ajani, who was represented at the occasion by the Director, Planning and Coordination in the Ministry, Dr Mercy Ilori, stated that the the two day conference is an auspicious time to discuss interventions that would ensure a safe, smart and sustainable transportation sector amidst various issues facing the sector such as; the recent fuel subsidy removal, the inland waterways accidents in Kwara and Calabar States, the train level crossing and bus collision that occured in Lagos State sometimes ago and some other incidents and accidents that have occurred in recent times.
Ajani noted that at the last National Council on Transportation (NCT), Council created awareness on the Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme and presented the advantages inherent in converting petrol to CNG. ‘‘If 50 – 60 per cent 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 a secure and sustainable mobility in our country,’’.
She said the vision of CIOTA to begin to regulate all transport professionals in Nigeria as stipulated in its Act is a welcome development, imploring all transporters to collaborate with the Council for the Regulation of Transport Professional (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, she said, will certainly place CORTRANS on the same pedestal with other sister regulatory councils, such as the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Nursing and Midwifery Registration Council of Nigeria, among others.
age on our positions to cause a change to the various issued 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 instill our wealth of knowledge and vast experience to engender realistic solutions.
Meanwhile, President of 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 includes, the need for Government to reintroduce the urban mass transportation system to ensure mass conveyance of the masses with low transportation fare.
“ We used to have this system before and part of our recommendations are that we can through our contacts donate mass transport busses to help the country at low cost. We are ready our own men and resources whom we know that 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 recommendation. Enough is enough of abandoning some programs that have worked in the past.
Secondly, it does not mean we do not have alternative to fulci fuel? of course we do. Here we should be thinking of gas, CNG, LPG and so on. These are meant to replace fuel and to drive motoring, air transportation as well as water transportation. So we are calling on government to expeditionsly respond to the creation of 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 facility 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 economic survives like this. We should empower local manufacturers, 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 seem 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 solutions to suffering of Nigerians. “ This is a shot time plan. But now that the subsidy removal has begun, we should look for a permanent solutions. When talking of the so called palliative, you and I know that Nigeria does not have a scientific data base to implement the idea. So we are basically moving in circle without stepping forward. But rather we believe that we create a permanent solution to our problems like I said before that it is easy to make Nigerian have sustainable jobs at the 774 local governments using this palliative money to create job platforms for a sustainable development.
While delivering a key note address, public Relations Officer Directorate of Secrets Service Dr. Peter Afunanyaekwe, that several issues including insecurity is hammering the economic value of transportation in Nigeria.
He however, recommended that Nigerians should embrace community policing to aid security agencies to fight menace in the transportation industry.
