The federal government said it is working to safeguard critical transport infrastructure and strengthen Nigeria’s intermodal system to ensure safer, seamless and efficient movement of people and goods.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Olufunso Adebiyi, disclosed this at the just-concluded 19th National Council on Transportation in Abuja.

Mr Adebiyi said that the council would recommend stiffer penalties for the vandalism of transport assets, describing it as a major threat to safety and service delivery. According to him, the criminal act has resulted in loss of lives, destruction of public assets and life-altering injuries to many Nigerians.

He stressed that protecting infrastructure was key to achieving a seamless intermodal transport system.

The permanent secretary also emphasised the need for public-private partnerships, robust funding mechanisms and innovative asset-recycling models to accelerate the development, rehabilitation and sustainable management of transport infrastructure nationwide.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Adamu Aliero, who also spoke at the event, reiterated the importance of strengthening the nation’s intermodal transport system.

Mr Aliero noted that federal infrastructure projects must be handled by their designated sector ministries to ensure proper oversight and accountability.

He commended Mr Adebiyi for addressing what he called “an administrative anomaly” involving the award of a railway construction contract to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI), without technical input from the Ministry of Transportation.

“While MoFI has an important role as a financing and investment vehicle, the technical aspects of railway infrastructure development, including construction, supervision and sectoral coordination, fall within the statutory mandate of the Federal Ministry of Transportation,” Mr Aliero said.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for intervening through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, to restore the appropriate institutional responsibility for the project.

“The National Assembly will not support arrangements that sideline core statutory ministries in favour of entities without the requisite technical mandate and operational capacity to supervise critical national infrastructure projects,” Mr Aliero stated.

The lawmaker assured that the National Assembly would continue to support the Ministry of Transportation in its rail development.

(NAN)