Gowon to preside over CIOTA transport summit


Former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd.), would chair the Second National Transport Summit of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIoTA), which starts December 1 in Abuja. CIoTA National President, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, revealed this in Lagos at a press conference ahead of the three-day event ending December 3.  

Dr. Jamoh said the summit would have a full complement of industry stakeholders, who would be brainstorming to chart the way forward for the transport sector. He listed the Special Guests of Honour expected at the conference to include Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi; Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika; Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bello; and Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemi Saraki. 

The CIoTA national president described the summit as an opportunity to build on the gains of the maiden edition held in December last year. He assured that CIoTA, the foremost and exclusive chartered body designated by legislation to drive the transportation sector in Nigeria, would continue to contribute to the development of sustainable transport infrastructure in the country. The Institute would also address inter-connectivity challenges and funding issues across the sector, Jamoh stated.

Jamoh, who is also Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said the areas of focus for the meeting included rail network, highways and bridges, deep seaports, and airport concession agreements. He described the building of inland ports as a hybrid of innovation and technology for extending the hinterland ports, stating that the rebuilding of Nigeria’s transport infrastructure is on-going on many fronts. The CIoTA president said, “There are enormous challenges in the effort to develop the transportation sector in the country. These include funding, public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements, institution building, and, lately, COVID-19, which increased the risks of transportation globally.  “The summit will address these issues, using the expertise and rich industrial experience of the speakers, discussants, and active audience participation.”

Jamoh expressed his optimism that the summit would address the issue of sustainable transportation in Nigeria in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), analyse the innovations and current challenges in the air and road transport modes, and discuss the automobile industry in Nigeria as an example of successful indigenous vehicle technology development.

Other Guests of Honour expected at the summit include Director-General of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr. George Moghalu; Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman; Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello; Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Engr. Fidet Okhiria; and Managing Director, Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Engr. Nuruddeen Abdurrahman Raffindadi. Also expected are Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Commodore Emmanuel Duja Effedua (rtd.); Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Dr. Salih Farah Bayero; and Corps Marshall, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi.  The summit would feature the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of CIoTA as well as technical sessions and panel discussions to cover a wide range of topics on the country’s transport challenges and solutions.