Experts decry absence of standards in transport industry

Transportation experts across the country have called for an overhaul of the transportation system to ensure improvement and efficiency in the practice of transport management and administration in the country.

The experts, who spoke on the theme: ‘The Role of Transport and Logistics in Sustainable Development’, at the South West Zonal Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) in Lagos, yesterday, decried how the absence of stringent standards in the system was jeopardising the efficiency of transport and logistics system across board.

In his remarks, the President/Chairman-in-Council, CIOTA, Segun Obayendo, while describing the sector as an indispensable area that would make society and living conducive, noted that the essence of organising the conference was to seek the interventions of the stakeholders in the sector on how to address the challenges of unprofessionalism and lack of adequate regulations.

He said: “If we are duly regulated, monitored and enforced, our lives will have changed as far as the transportation sector is concerned. More importantly, if we know what the European countries use to assess who we are, they just check out our transportation system and they conclude that this country must be disorganised. The challenges stemmed from the way we overtake, parking and among other issues which give a picture of who we are.”

In his keynote address, the Director, Centre for Multimodal Transportation Studies, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Iyiola Oni, emphasised the need to prioritise sustainable transportation systems across all the transportation modes to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Equally, the Chairman, CIOTA, Lagos State chapter, Taiwo Salaam, described the sector as a critical component that served as the backbone of any economy.

In his remarks, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwasegun Osiyemi, called for collaborative efforts in transportation and logistics systems to minimise the challenges facing the sector in the country.

Speaking on the challenges facing the aviation sector, Group Captain, John Ojikutu, alleged that the corruption that pervaded the aviation sector was affecting the operations of most Nigerian airlines.