Experts believe passage of Railways bill will ease Apapa Gridlock

By ZION Olalekan

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) has called for the passage of the Railway Bill which is currently before the 8th National Assembly, saying that the bill would ease the traffic gridlock at Apapa ports.

Deputy National President of CILT, Barr Albany Igwe in a chat with Nigeriamaritime360.com said that the Institute is optimistic on the Bill, even as it says that it is not up to the 8th Assembly to pass the bill again.

Barr Igwe said the railway bill would create a platform for private sector participation in the evacuation of imported cargoes through the rail system.

According to him, “The 8th Assembly is coming to a close in the next few weeks, so it is not entirely up to them, they are winding up, the new government has a lot to do, the ability of the winding up government and the incoming government to see these things as priority is what would determine fate of the Bills before the national assembly”

“Election is come and gone, if the new government believes the bills are worth it, they would sign it into law, if not, they would carry out a review. Passage of a bill is one thing but implementation is another”

“The railway bill, if it is passed, it means that the private sector can join in providing services for the rail sector which is very important for the evacuation of imported cargoes from the ports to hinterland”

“The bill would create a platform for private sector participation” he said

Barr Igwe also called on the Federal Government to provide a truck holding bay for trucks lined up along the port corridor.

According to him “It is primarily government responsibility, there are what we call public goods, nobody builds a house on its own except he gets government permission, security is also the government’s responsibility, the government would have to bear the cost of establishing the truck park, they would have to be charging money from the park, it is like you building a road and putting a toll gate in order to maintain the road”

“Government has to establish quality standards for everything called public goods”