From Abuja
The Federal Government has approved passenger charges on the new Lagos Ibadan rail standard guage which would begin operations by January.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made the disclosure during the inauguration of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) in Abuja on Friday.
The Reporters reports that the theme for the week-long,2nd Annual Summit is “Building Sustainable Transport Infrastructure in Nigeria :Opportunities, Innovations and Technologies”.
Amaechi said: “I have received the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Lagos /Ibadan rail project by Jan. 2021 which will make Nigerians see the way the standard gauge railway looks like.
“Today, I approved the charges on passengers from Lagos to Ibadan, we just transfer how we charge from Abuja to Kaduna.
“We charge N3,000 per Economy seat, N5,000 for Business class and N6,000 for First class, the same is applicable to Lagos to Ibadan.
“It should have started running by now before Mr President inaugurates it by January.”
The minister said that there had been tremendous changes in most of the air terminals, saying that the Minister of Aviation would inform the public of the completion of Lagos/Kano terminal.
Amaechi promised that the ministry would collaborate with CIOTA to enable it achieve its objectives.
He noted that transportation was more than administration,but added that without administration, there would be no transportation.
The minister said CIOTA’s role was critical to the growth of transportation in Nigeria, adding that the country had advanced a lot in the area of transportation.
Meanwhile, thehe Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA), said it had begun the process of making transportation a professional sector in the country.
Dr Bashir Jamoh, the National President and Chairman of Council, made this known during the 2nd National Transport Summit, annual general meeting and inauguration of the Governingg Council of the institute inauguration in Abuja.
Jamoh said the move was to ensure that the sector achieve the global best standards and practices.
The national president added that CIOTA was making effort to start the journey of making the transition toward a more professional transport sector by drawing up a curriculum to keep the professionals abreast of professionalism in the transport sector.
The national president said that after getting approval of from the Ministry of Education, the challenges in the sector would be “things of the past.’’
He said that the Federal Government, through the Minister of Transportation, had invested in modern technology in the sector, adding that there was need to professionally manage transportation business.
Also in his valedictory speech, the Chairman of the outgoing Board of Trustee of CIOTA,His Royal Highness, Oba Babatunde Balogun, the Elejinrin of Ejinrin Land, commended the efforts of the members and the President of CIOTA Dr Jamoh, for attaining the status of transition.
Balogun, who was represented by a member of the Board, Dr Zebulon Ikokide, commended members for making remarkable, the position of the institute to its deserved position in the country.
He said,” Before now, the institute was called Institute of Transport Administration (IOTA), established in 1981 with the commitment and dedication of the present executive by Dr Jamoh, the Institute has attained the status of CIOTA.
He advised the present executive to constitute various committees, designed to drive the programmes of the Institute with a good mix of old and new members for collective responsibilities.
In her closing remarks, the elected National Publicity Secretary of CIOTA, Mrs Chizoba Anyika, promised that the new executive would work hard to professionalise the transport sector,adding that the industry needed professionals.
Anyika said this would be achieved through constant training and data management of the sector empowering of members.
The Reporters reports that the week-long summit, which drew many experts and stakeholders, across the country, in transportation sector, has ended.
