The Department of Road Transport and Mass Transit Administration under the Federal Ministry of Transportation, held it’s 3rd Annual Stakeholders Conference on Road Transport & Mass Transit Operations in Nigeria: Themed: Road Mobility Safety in Nigeria.
The event which began on Thursday at the International Training Institute in Maitama Abuja, had in attendance Government Officials, Policy Experts, Transport Operators and other Stakeholders in the Transport sector in attendance.
The Conference is in its 3rd edition.
Speaking at the event, the Director of the department, Dr Mrs Ekpa, said that the road Transport is the most viable instrument and enabler of economic development.
Ekpa revealed that during a focus lab research in 2018, the transportation sector offered the greatest number of investors, saying that the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) prioritises Transportation alongside agriculture.
The Director, urged all Stakeholders and Ministries to join hands in ensuring and sustaining growth in the sector.
Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, in his address to the participants, admitted that the country’s transport infrastructure remained inadequate for the size of its economy.
He identified poor sector governance and weak project execution as the major obstacles to expansion and improvement on the quality of infrastructure.
“It is in recognition of these that the Buhari administration has placed the development of transport infrastructure at the heart of its policy agenda,” Mr. Udoma said.
The major objective of the event is to identify and map out strategies that would ensure the achievements of Policy milestones in the Transportation sector, considering the safety, security and regulation of every commercial motor vehicle operations in the country.
Stakeholders were given the platform to create and showcase their innovations for the sector, as this will explore more opportunities to effectively engage the public, the private sector and other Stakeholders in the development of the much -needed sophisticated transportation infrastructure, eradication of road hazard and the enabling environment that will make road transportation contribute immensely to the nation’s economy.