Nigeria Needs Inventory Of Transport Assets For Proper Planning—NIMASA Boss

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said Nigeria needs inventory of transport assets for proper planning of the economy.

Jamoh who is also the National President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria said this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of the Third National Transport Summit organised by CIOTA.

The summit has as its theme, “Regulating the transport sector In Nigeria: The State of the art and the years ahead.”

The CIOTA president described the theme as a call to a renewed scrutiny, supervision and stocktaking within the transportation sector.

He said, “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.

“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 Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said the Federal Government holds the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria in high regard as a professional body the country can rely on for direction in transport policy planning and administration.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, said the Federal Government would adopt the recommendations of the conference as a critical document for future planning.

He 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.

“Therefore, government would look up to your Institute for guidance in policy formulation and implementation,” he added.

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 conference 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.