The Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council rose last sitting on Wednesday in Abuja with a resolve to forward to the National Assembly four bills aimed at affecting reforms in the transport sector of the country.
Focus had been on the need to reform and transform the transport sector which was giving generous attention as Council debated national issues at the meeting. Also reviewed was the participation and role of the private sector in achieving the needed transformation.
The bills include the National Transport Commission Bill 2014, the Nigerian Railway Bill 2014, the Nigerian Ports and Harbour Bill 2014 and the National Inner Waterways Authority Bill.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, told reporters that the bills, when passed, would aid in the movement of goods within the country, saying it would boost the nation’s economy.
He said that at the meeting, the council members decried a situation where infrastructure in the public transportation system had been funded largely by the government, a situation they said had created bottlenecks in the sector over the years.
“The initiative would open up the the transport sector for competition and rapid development of the sector,” Mr Maku explained.
Mr Maku pointed out that the past three years had shown that the private sector had the capacity to transform the country, citing examples of the reforms in the telecoms and power sector.
The Council has set up a committee, headed by the Attorney General of the Federation, to further work out the bills before it would be forwarded to the National Assembly in two weeks’ time.
