The use of motor-cycles as commercial means of transport in Nigeria, popularly known as “Okada” or “Achaba” may soon be banned throughout the country.
This is one of the measures proposed towards adequate provision of safety and secure transportation in Nigeria at the just concluded Annual National Council on Transport (NCT) held at the Nike Lake Resort, Abakpa Nike in Enugu State.
Contained in the Communiqué of the week-long council which was co-signed by the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, the Chairman of the council and the Kogi State Commissioner of Transport, Mr. Abdulraman Wuya, Chairman Communiqué Committee and had in attendance all the State commissioners of transport, the Permanent Secretaries of Transport and Directors and Officials in the Federal and State Ministries of Transport throughout the country and all stakeholders is the advice to all states in the federation to henceforth discourage the use of commercial motor cycles as a means of public transportation.
All States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have therefore been advised to establish a public transport system that ensure strict regulation of the operation of public passenger transportation system through a well articulated management system for enhanced safety, security, effective and efficient service delivery.
The states are to also develop master plans for the development of intelligent transport system (ITS) to facilitate the development and management of their transport operations in line with emerging trends and global best practices.
It was also agreed at the Council that all commercial vehicles should be properly registered in each state while their enumeration should be carried out periodically to enhance safety and security.
To this end, the Council has approved a Stakeholders Committee to be headed by the Federal Ministry of Transport with membership drawn from the states, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant Stakeholders to henceforth oversee classification of Drivers’ License, regulate driving schools, issues permits to driving schools and ensure the Pre-License tests of riders of motorcycles and tricycles as it obtains for motor drivers among other things.
This year’s council which had as its theme: “Providing safe and Secure Transportation: Building Stakeholders’ Confidence” also took a hard look at transportation on the nation’s waters and directed that the Federal Ministry of Transport should develop a national minimum standards framework on safety and security on the nation’s inland waterways.
This measure was aimed at ensuring safe transportation of persons, goods, equipment, navigation and navigational aids and related matters.
The Council urged the Federal Ministry of Transport to ensure that the National Maritime and Administrative Security Agency (NIMASA) and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)’s search and Rescue (SAR) centres are fully functional to enhance safety and security in the nation’s waterways.
It also directed all relevant agencies in collaboration with other stakeholders to embark on extensive and sustained nationwide safety awareness campaigns to stem incessant occurrences of boat mishaps in the nation’s waterways.
Meanwhile, all states, the FCT, Local Government and relevant Transport regulatory agencies have been directed to install CCTV and other security gadgets at motor parks, jetties, port, railways stations and other terminus for effective security surveillance.
The states and local governments were told to adopt and sustain the implementation of the National Counter Terrorism strategy (NACTES) which was developed by the Office of the National Security Adviser to curtail violent extremism, insecurity and unsafe transportation nationwide.
The Council which was declared open by the Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime urged the passage of two transport bills at the National Assembly to deepen ongoing reform of the transport sector.
The National Council on Transport (NCT), is the highest policy Advisory Body on all transport matters, which sets the policy agenda and provides the regulatory framework for the development of the Nigerian Transport Sector. The Council meetings annually, to compare notes, share experiences, prioritize and synergize efforts by the Federal Government, the thirty six (36) states and the FCT, as well as other stakeholders in achieving the set goals.
