THE Federal Government is intensifying efforts to regulate the road transport sector in the country in order to reduce kidnapping, bag snatching, one chance and other related crime on Nigeria’s roads using technology.
Following the inauguration of the Committee on Transport Short Code (TSC) *735# and the Transport Social Media (TSM) weeks ago by the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to dialogue with relevant stakeholders and come up with all inclusive resolutions on government’s target to have all road transport operators and their unions in the country registered online.
The Chairperson of the Committee and Director for Road Transport and Mass Transit Administration, Dr Anthony Ekpa immediately began consultations, few days back, the Committee meant with the Association of Commercial Motor Cycle Owners and Repairs of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to intimate them on the development and also asked for their contributions as well as partnership in relating the new policy to their members at the state and local government levels.
On Tuesday, the Committee visited the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owner (NARTO) seeking both their collaboration and contributions with a view to carrying stakeholders at the grass root along.
At NURTW, Ekpa charged the union to embrace the policy stating that, “you seems to have more of the operators under your umbrella, NURTW is major stakeholder, and to a large extent the success and failure of the policy depends on you”.
She said “we are here because the road transport sector up until now had no regulations. Anyone who had money could wake up any day and buy 10 buses and he is already into transport business”. Adding that the Aviation sector, the maritime and other transport sectors had good standards except for the road sector.
While at NARTO, the Deputy National Secretary of the Association, Ayo Alogo commended the government for the initiative and reaffirmed the commitment of NARTO in ensuring the policy comes to fruition.
“We are investors and any initiative that will protect our investment is important to us”. He lamented that the Association has been facing the challenge of their trucks being diverted, especially their tankers carrying petroleum products.
The Road Crime Control System (RCCS) project was conceptualised as a social service delivery programme in 2010 by Messrs. 2TOC Solution Limited which collaborated with the Nigeria Police Force. The Police then decided to hand over the programme to the Ministry of Transportation for implementation of the project.
2TOC Solution Limited had secured a code from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) being *735# for passengers to derive the driver’s Electronic Number (EN) in order to ascertain the authenticity of the genuine transport Unions and their members.
The Committee members are drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service (SSS), Nigerian Road Safety Commission, Nigerian Civil Defence and Safety Corps, Nigeria Fire Service, Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Association of Commercial Motor Cycle Owners and Repairs of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owner (NARTO), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and Representative of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
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