Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — IN a bid to enhance the nation’s transport industry, the Ministry of Transportation has dusted up the twenty years old draft policy on transport and currently under studying the document with a view to implementing the content.
Speaking, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said that the document was not a maritime transport policy but a general transport policy that needed to be implemented.
Amaechi said that it was essential that the nation has a transport policy adding that the Ministry was working towards having that document becoming a policy.
He explained that the Ministry went to the Cabinet to defend the proposed policy adding that the ministry has been asked to go and improve on the document.
He disclosed that a separate Committee will be set up to churn out a maritime transport policy as soon as the national transport document was perfected.
The Minister stated: “The first thing you need to know is that it is not a maritime transport policy, the first thing is to pull out a transport policy document. We have gone to the Cabinet and there were disagreements in the course of debate. They asked as to come back. Hopefully this year we should come out with a transport policy.
“It is essential that we have a transport policy, when we finish with the transport policy that is when we can look if it is maritime transport, railway transport policy or any other specific transport policy. First get a transport policy.
“We will get the maritime transport policy by calling the managements of the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and others to look at the possibility of having a maritime transport policy.
“You are right, we will set up another Committee to look into this, it will still not go to the Cabinet until we have come out with a transport policy, that is essential because you cannot have a maritime transport policy when you do not have a transport policy.”
Speaking in a similar vein, Director of Maritime Services at the Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Paul Akwadili, said that about two weeks ago, the Ministry shared a copy of the document with agencies and parastatals under the Ministry adding that about four of the agencies have responded to the draft document.
Akwadili also disclosed that in the next two weeks the Ministry will call for a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the document.