On Tuesday in Abuja, Vice-President Kashim Shettima unveiled the blueprint to reform Nigeria’s transportation sector.

Mr Shettima unveiled the blueprint at the 5th National Summit of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA).

He said President Bola Tinubu’s government was committed to addressing the transportation challenges Nigerians were grappling with following the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

Mr Shettima canvassed for a collaborative revolution with the institute as the driving force for the blueprint.

“I must appeal to you to remain the architects of a robust and efficient transport system and to partake in managing the connection of every part of our nation, for that is the pathway to knitting together the fabric of our socio-economic prosperity,” stated Mr Shettima.

The vice-president said the institute’s objectives aligned with the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of Mr Tinubu.

He said none of the government’s eight presidential priorities, from food security to job creation, could be achieved without a functional transportation system.

Mr Shettima added, “Mr President’s critical points of focus require an efficiently functional transportation system to achieve our mandate. We will find it useful to have suggestions from the institute: well-thought-out policy enunciation, transportation infrastructure designs, and effective operational management strategies in all modes of transportation.”

He urged the institute to provide valuable expertise in the form of policy recommendations, transportation infrastructure designs, and effective operational management strategies across all modes of transportation.

The vice-president recognised the technical and managerial skills of the institute’s members. He expressed confidence in their ability to build a sector that drives industry employment, manufacturing and production.

He acknowledged the various concerns raised by the institute, including road construction materials, local airline viability, rapid rail development, pipeline security and waterway navigability.

The vice-president assured the institute of an open door to the government for collaborative problem-solving.

Mr Shettima further emphasised the importance of training and attitudinal development for transportation operation personnel, particularly in the road sector, highlighting the need for closer collaboration with transport workers’ unions and associations to improve Nigerians’ travelling and business experiences.

“The reality of our post-subsidy removal adjustment, in which you have played quite a critical role to stabilise the nation, isn’t lost to us,” he stressed.

(NAN)