By Ignatius Ushie
The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, has reiterated her commitment to the transformation of the road sub-sector through a partnership with stakeholders. Saraki said this when a delegation of the National Freight Haulers Association (NFHA) paid a courtesy visit on her on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Minister, who was represented by the Director of Road Transport and Mass Transit Administration, Mrs Esther Ehigie, said that the sector would move forward only through partnership with relevant stakeholders.
“The Ministry and the Minister is very concerned about the state of road transportation in this country and we are trying to do something about it. But definitely, we cannot do it alone, so the ministry, in partnership with other operators in the field, is going to make sure that both sectors are transformed. Every sector in the road transportation is being looked at because we want to be able to compete globally and that means we must do things right and maintain standards to ensure that Nigeria is where it is supposed to be.”
Earlier, Mr Jackson Bent, the National President of NFHA urged the federal government to fish out miscreants who run illegal transport unions to defraud unsuspecting transporters and motorists.
Bent, who decried the activities of the miscreants, said it has led to multiple taxation in the transport sector as well as hike in commuter fare and prices of goods in the market.
