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‘Transportation key to Nigeria’s economic growth’

A foremost consultant engineer and former member of Anambra Vision 2070 under former Governor Willie Obiano, Chris Okoye, has called for a critical review of Nigeria’s transportation sector.

He emphasised that the role of the transportation sector in driving the economic growth of any nation cannot be overemphasized.

Okoye made these remarks at the 2023 Conference/Annual General Meeting and Third Fellowship Conferment Ceremony of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE), themed “Transportation and Road Sector Reform: Pathway To Economic Growth,” held at the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Auditorium in Abuja on Friday.

Speaking on the topic “Reform of The Transportation Sector in Nigeria: Case for Sustainable Road Sector Financing,” Okoye argued that unless things are put into proper perspective regarding roads in Nigeria, the country will remain lagging behind in the comity of nations. He pointed out that road transportation, in particular, remains the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, constituting 90 percent of the movement of goods and services across the country. He also highlighted that the lack of proper regulation has been the bane of roads in Nigeria and advocated for viewing roads in terms of their economic value rather than just their social value, calling for sustainable road funding.

“The focus of this lecture was to review the entire transportation sector and to establish the close correlation between transportation sector development and the competitiveness of our national economy.

“I think by now, it is quite obvious to everybody that without a sustainable transportation sector, our capacity to propel a productive economy will continue to be dogged by all kinds of problems, particularly in the productive sector. Transport logistics play a major role in the cost of production in any area of human endeavor. The question, therefore, is, ‘How do we begin to manage and deliver that sector in such a way that it can impact on our productive capacity in a sustainable manner?’

“Nothing is achieved without transportation. No economy moves without transportation. Road transportation is the main thrust that moves everything in Nigeria, constituting more than 90 percent of transportation in the country. The area of infrastructure in Nigeria has not been properly harnessed. We have not been where we are supposed to be because we always do the first thing last. Rather, we are in cyclical motion instead of linear motion.

“It’s time to outline imaginative ways in which we can impact and fund the road sector so that we can hopefully begin to take the road sector onto a platform that is similar to those found in most developed countries,” Okoye, a former chairman of the Board of Fellows, Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), told the Nigerian Tribune.

Seventy-one members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) were conferred with the Fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE) at the event.

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