The Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, has maintained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s dedication to ship a developed and sustainable transportation system in Nigeria remained sacrosanct and never negotiable.
Alkali additionally described the transportation sector as a significant contributor to environmental air pollution resulting from its over-dependence on fossil fuels and non-availability of other vitality.
The minister disclosed that making an allowance for the well being hazard posed by this disturbing pattern, a part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President is to vary the narrative by adopting clear, renewable vitality and different improvements that would assist modernise the transportation sector.
Alkali additionally revealed that the drafting of the Nationwide Land Transport Coverage which dealt extensively with parts similar to various vitality and local weather change, amongst others, has reached 80 per cent completion and can quickly be offered to the Federal Govt Council for approval.
The minister spoke on Friday through the closing of the week-long 18th Nationwide Council on Transportation held on the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
The one-week programme had in attendance Commissioners for Transportation from the 36 states of the federation and their Everlasting Secretaries.
Alkali described this yr’s theme, ‘Embracing Improvements and Applied sciences for Sustainable Transportation: Tackling the Power Challenges,’ as a wake-up name to simply accept improvements to cushion the impact of vitality challenges at present being skilled within the nation whereas additionally serving as an eye-opener to mitigate some local weather change issues
He mentioned, “Transportation sector is a significant offender of environmental air pollution due to its over-dependence on fossil gasoline and non-availability of other vitality that has exerted strain on demand for vitality and raised broader environmental and socio-economic points similar to environmental air pollution; gasoline value volatility; financial sabotage amongst others.
“In view of the vitality demand of transportation, international locations on the lately concluded World Local weather Motion Summit (WCAS) of the twenty eighth Convention of Events (COP 28), dedicated to making a sustainable future for coming generations by accelerating innovation and facilitating the deployment of renewable vitality, clear expertise and different inexperienced options.”
Alkali mentioned that for Nigeria to be on the forefront of this campaign, there’s a have to undertake a multifaceted strategy to speed up the adoption of sustainable and environmentally-friendly transportation options.
A few of these options he recognized embrace, “Modernising the nation’s transportation techniques by pioneering the frontier of inexperienced manufacturing and industrialization with a give attention to pure fuel as a transition gasoline alongside different renewable vitality sources
“Prioritising revolutionary applied sciences within the transportation sector to mitigate vitality challenges whereas selling sustainability and financial development
“Consciously prioritizing budgetary appropriation to deal with vitality challenges and creating incentives to draw personal sector investments in de-carbonization and different various expertise amongst others.”
He, nevertheless, mentioned that the Ministry of Transportation has carried out some notable technological developments that may foster environmentally and economically-friendly transportation options in Nigeria.
Alkali mentioned among the daring strikes of the Ministry in latest occasions embrace “collaborating with the Presidential CNG Initiative Committee to arrange a CNG Conversion Centre in Abuja to mitigate the impact of subsidy elimination on petrol
“Selling the Adoption of Electrical and Autonomous Automobiles; Advocating the Integration of Synthetic Intelligence (AI) for logistics operations in addition to the event of a Nationwide Land Transport Coverage which dealt extensively on parts similar to various vitality, local weather change, and so on.”
Alkali lauded Governor Dapo Abiodun for selling multimodal transport and championing the course of e-mobility and Fuel Mobility Tasks all of which he mentioned mirrored the seriousness the governor hooked up to implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
In his comment on the event, the governor who was represented by his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, described the transportation sector as one sector which performs a pivotal function within the sustainable development and improvement of any society.
Abiodun mentioned that it was in recognition of this that his administration, at its inception, took the enormous stride to create a totally professionalised Ministry of Transportation charged with the environment friendly and efficient utilisation of obtainable human and monetary sources to supply improved, protected, dependable, accessible, and sustainable mobility choices for residents, guests and companies.
He mentioned that apart from his administration’s funding within the ongoing Gateway Agro-Cargo Airport at Ilisan Remo in addition to the development of over 500km of entry roads, the state can also be planning to increase the Lagos Purple, Blue and Purple Line Metro rail companies into Ogun State in addition to, the East-West Rail Venture of the Federal Authorities
He mentioned in anticipation of the FG’s deregulation coverage and whole withdrawal of subsidies on petroleum merchandise, “Our state, in late 2022, proactively initiated the diesel-to-CNG conversion mechanism for public transport buses.
“This transfer made Ogun State the flagship of the diesel-to-CNG conversion programme within the nation. It could please you to know that every one our beforehand acquired diesel-powered buses have been efficiently transformed to CNG and are presently deployed for phased bus mass transit companies throughout the state reporting a 40% discount in working prices.”
Abiodun mentioned that his administration would proceed to collaborate with the NCT, neighbouring states, improvement companions just like the UK-Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility and multilateral establishments just like the World Financial institution. to actualise the imaginative and prescient for a seamless multimodal transportation system in Nigeria.
