Unresolved conflicting interests in Transport industry stall presidential assent to NTC Bill

President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to withhold its assent to the National Transport Commission (NTC) bill which stakeholders agreed is critical to the growth of the transport sector.

The bill, which the National Assembly has passed into law since last year, is still on the table of Mr President who have refused to append husband signature due to unresolved conflicting interests of powerful stakeholders in the industry.

However, sources close to the Presidency and Ministry of Transportation have said that the NTC bill may have to wait  as  some areas of disagreement among stakeholders connected with the bill have not been tied up.The NTC Bill and Federal Roads Authority (Establishment) Bill 2018 were  among some of the  bills which the Senate had last year passed to the President and are still awaiting presidential assent.

The NTC Bill were last year returned to the National Assembly by the President over issues of technicalities and use of language, that would bother on overlap of functions with other agencies if signed into law.

Sources said officials of the Transport Ministry and counterparts in the  aviation industry, among other undisclosed interest groups   have not been able to  resolve critical areas of conflict and provisions that are to be delineated and  streamlined.

It was gathered that based on this, the President was advised  not  to assent the Bill yet.

However, concerned  stakeholders in the maritime sector have called for speedy resolution of area of conflicts in the bill.

Speaking to Journalists over the weekend on the delay  being experienced on assent of the   NTC Bill, a maritime lawyer, Mr. Kasarachi Opara has said that there is the need for the stakeholders to move fast on resolving areas of disagreement or conflict in the NTC Bill.

Opara enjoined stakeholders in both maritime and aviation sectors to be able to identify critical areas of conflict in the NTC bill and  resolve them so that the President will have a second look at assenting to the bill.

It would be recalled that the  Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr  Boss Mustapha,  had last year given hope on the NTC Bill when he said that the Executive  arm of government was committed to playing its role in the passage of the bill into law.

Mustapha had said, “If Nigeria’s economy is to be propelled at the desired speed, there is the need to establish or delineate a body, to regulate the sector and provide technical oversight for the provision of transport services, monitor compliance of government agencies and service providers, with relevant legislation for efficient operations through consolidation, removal of duplicity and regulatory functions of public agencies.”

NTC Bill appears to have taken the shape of  the Petroleum Industry  Governance Bill (PIGB) which process started in 2008 and passed  last year but  which assent was turned  down by the President.

Similarly, the  process of passing the NTC Bill  started about  10 years ago before it was passed  by the Senate last year.

When contacted oo the report that the NTC Bill may not be signed into law soon by the President, the Executive Secretary, NSC, Barr Hassan Bello, simply said the federal  government was in a better position to determine which bill to be assented to or not.

Bello said that  the federal government would have consulted widely before taking a position  on what to do in respect of the NTC Bill.

Bello who noted that the present government is one which believes in process and procedure, said  government considers a lot of issues before a bill is assented.

Arguing that the present government is always pointing to an economic direction for the good of the country, Bello added that whatever it decides remains for the best interest of the country.

His words, “ the federal government is in a better position to determine which bill to pass or not. The NTC Bill is not an exception. Government has a broader perspective. Government has a wider network to assess a bill. It is important that this government particularly is meticulous. It is a government of process and procedure. It is a government of law. So, if the government thinks that the NTC bill may not be passed, then that is a superior argument.

“Government always considers a lot of issues before signing a bill and I am sure there was  a wider consultation on this issue. Don’t forget that this bill is an industry bill. It is not just a bill for the Nigerian Shippers Council. It is a bill that concerns wider ministries, Ministry of Finance, Transport, Aviation and so many other sectors because it is a multi-sectoral bill. So, it is not just about NSC, it is about the industry and about the country.”“This is a government that is pointing to an economic direction for the country. Government is going to talk about the cost of doing business, government talks about the size of government itself and so many other factors that come into consideration.
“So, if a superior argument has emerged to say that NTC bill should be withheld  or may be substituted by a review of NSC Act, then that is coming from a sound perspective”.