Transport unions and other stakeholders have appealed to the Federal Government to address the numerous road challenges confronting their operations.
The unions made this call at stakeholders workshop titled: ‘’Road Transport Management and Mass Transit Operations in Nigeria’’, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Aloga Ogbogo, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), said they were faced with the problem of buying and maintaining trucks.
He said roads were in deplorable conditions with negative effect on the economy of the nation.
He said haulage was capital intensive; and repairs of trucks money guzzling due to the high prices of spare parts in Nigeria.
“We do not have tyre manufacturing industries in this country; this is a very big challenge facing both owners of trucks and employees of road workers.
“There is need for an alternative transportation of goods and services in Nigeria due to the insecurity on our roads’’, he said.
He said the union was paying high duty on importation of trucks while multiple taxations had become the order of the day.
According to him, NARTO is an organisation of all commercial vehicles owners in Nigeria engaged in haulage of petroleum products, general cargoes, and movement of passengers.
Mr Suleiman Musa, Head of Department, Mass Transit, National Union of Road Transport Workers, said poor road network and road signs were hampering the success of mass transit in Nigeria.
He said some commercial drivers were not adequately trained, but that the union was partnering Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies to train the union members.
According to him, the union has gone a long way to build and inaugurate training schools in Gombe, Ogun and Adamawa states in enhancing the performance of members.
Mr Ugwu Henry, Deputy General Secretary, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), said the union was facing harsh loan conditions due to absence of transport development banks.
He said multiple taxations had subjected operators to persistent tax drive and collection by local and state governments.
According to him, high cost of maintenance and lack of spare parts tend to cripple the operation of the transporters.
He said the union was not receiving any soft loans or palliatives or subsidising the cost of vehicles by government.
Mr Afolabi Olawale, Senior Assistant General Secretary, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said tanker drivers were being exposed to a lot of dangers on the roads.
He said the major challenges of tanker drivers were lack of parking space, exposure to hi-jacking of trucks and armed robbery.
According to him, there are proliferations of road traffic agencies on the road representing different levels of government extorting money from the truck drivers with nothing to take home.
He called on government at different levels to come up with uniform traffic rules and regulations to reduce the problem of road users. (NAN)
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