CIoTA to tackle Apapa gridlock with NYSC members

Abiola Seun |

The Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria. (CIOTA) have revealed that plans are underway to tackle traffic situation on Nigerian roads, including around the seaports with volunteer groups majorly made up of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during the maiden National Transportation Summit which had as its theme, “Unlocking the potentials of Transportation for sustainable Development”, President of CIoTA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh stated that it is time to restructure the rickety means of transportation that the nation currently has.

According to Jamoh, “It is time to re-orientate the touting that occurs at our motor parks all in the name of Transportation. How does CIOTA intend to carry out reforms in the nation’s transport sector? Our first objective will be to interface with the Head of Service and the Ministry of Education to ensure that transportation is truly professionalized in the country. We will make sure that we have people that can reinvigorate, re-design, and rebuild Transportation system in Nigeria. This is the area of advocacy that we will ensure is being taken care of without further delay.

“The second focus of CIOTA has to do with volunteer group. We admit that Nigerians are suffering anytime they use the roads due to reasons like traffic, bad state of road among others. For over two to three months, the Presidential Committee on Apapa gridlock has worked tirelessly on the traffic situation in and around the ports, without much success.

“In every country that i have visited, the most important roads are usually the access road leading to the seaports.

“CIOTA is going to be part and parcel of the effort to resolve the dry-headed monster called Apapa gridlock. After vigorous research, CIOTA has come up with what we call a volunteer group to bring an end to Apapa gridlock.

“We will partner with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and ask them to give us some of their members who will be enlisted in this volunteer group of CIOTA. They will be dressed in CIOTA uniform and deployed through collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to address the gridlock in and around our seaport.

“By the first quarter of 2020, our volunteer group’s will be on Nigerian roads, with the aim of restoring sanity on our roads.”