The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has said the Federal Government holds the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) in high regard as a professional body the country can rely on for direction in transport policy planning and administration.
Osinbajo stated this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of
the Third National Transport Summit organised by CIOTA, with the theme,
“Regulating The Transport Sector In Nigeria: The State of the Art and The Years
Ahead.”
The Vice President, who was represented by Minister of
Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, said the Federal Government would
adopt the recommendations of the conference as a critical document for future
planning.
Earlier in his address, National President of CIOTA, Dr.
Bashir Jamoh, advocated the inventorying of the country’s transport assets to
aid economic planning.
The Vice President said given the quality of professionals
in CIOTA, the Federal Government trusted the institute as a worthy partner in
its economic recovery drive.
“You have a role to produce transport professionals who will
drive the economy from the point of view of transport and logistics,” Osinbajo
stated while declaring open the three-day summit.
“Therefore, government would look up to your Institute for
guidance in policy formulation and implementation,” he added.
The Vice President told CIOTA, “Your role in the
transportation sector of the economy is enormous. It is a lead role. As the
Institute carries out its statutory mandate of training and certifying
transport professionals, as you exercise your statutory powers to regulate and
control the practice of professional transport management and administration,
your training curriculum and the quality of your graduates are very
significant, as the global supply chain goes digital and the world of transport
and transportation management thrives on ever-evolving technology and
innovations.
“The impressive attendance at this summit and the quality of
attendees show that your Institute is well prepared for this role.”
Osinbajo further stated, “From the stellar quality of
speakers at this summit, government would expectantly look forward to a rich
outcome of the summit with strong recommendations for regulating the transport
sector from the point of view of pricing of services, technical quality and
safety of transport equipment in a secure environment.”
Jamoh, in his address, stated that the theme of this year’s
summit was a renewed call for the country to take stock of its transportation
assets to facilitate development planning.
The CIOTA president, who is also Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said, “This theme is a call to a renewed scrutiny, supervision and stocktaking within the transportation sector.
“Critical regulatory obligations such as transportation
safety, quality control, documentation and licensing, information sharing and
data mining, professional education and public enlightenment; enforcement of
the rules and standardisation of procedures for seamless collaboration amongst
statutory institutions with mandates are imperatives for the making of a
sustainable and economically viable transport sector in Nigeria.”
He added, “It is also time to take stock nationally of all
the transportation assets of Nigeria. CIOTA pledges to play a supportive role
in this regard. We are officially assuring the government at federal and state
levels that the institute’s professional base is ready and at your disposal.
“We believe that proper inventory of our national
transportation assets will address the following important concerns: what is
our exact national requirement in terms of transportation assets in order to
avoid duplication, underproduction or under-investment? We must first ascertain
what we need to enable us fill in the gaps.”
The conference, which continues tomorrow, was well attended
by experts and stakeholders in the transport sector, including heads of state
and federal government agencies and parastatals, private sector operators, and
academics.