Institute Wants NASS To Pass Transportation Bill

The Chartered Institute
of Logistic and Transport of Nigeria  has appealed  to the National Assembly to pass the National Transport Policy Bill to facilitate  the development of the sector.
The Institute’s Executive Director, Mr. Francis Ehiguese,  made the appeal at a transport forum held in Port Harcourt recently.
He said that the passage of the bill would reduce crises  in the sector.
Ehiguese  said the road  and rail transportation sub-sectors were not doing well because of lack of regulatory framework  to guide their operations.
He said  that the Federal Government’s Conception of Ports Concession in 2006 was a step in the right direction, stressing  the need for urgent reform in road  and rail transportation.
The chartered transporter said that the Nigerian Ports  Authority (NPA) with its 14,000 workforce had crisis  before them and that when the Port regulatory policy came into existence, it made a huge difference, adding  that today, private investors are  investing in the  ports because they have efficient facilities and equipment  to work with.
He urged government to come up with a regulatory framework  that would transform the rail and road  transportation.
He said aviation sector  has its own regulatory framework but the road sub-sector which is the backbone of all models of transportation is still not regulated.
Ehiguese  said the institute has made  its input through the National  Transport Policy Bill on the  regulatory  framework for the sector, adding that the administrative  pronouncement  and power  that made the Federal  government to liberalise  the ports and the power sector should be applied  in the rail and road transport sub-sector.
He called for the establishment of  a council for regulation of transportation.
Philip Okparaji