As part of a broad plan to ease public transportation across Nigeria, the federal government has finalised plans to roll out 10,000 electric tricycles.
The tricycles would be distributed by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in August this year, for use across the northeast region and beyond.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who disclosed this yesterday, during a courtesy visit by ‘The Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027,’ said the President, “has approved the replication of the initiative in other parts of the country by the various regional development commissions.”
He noted that the priority of the administration of President Bola Tinubu was to move Nigeria from a fragmented transport system to an integrated logistics chain where ports, rail lines, CNG-powered trucks, inland waterways, airports and local feeder roads work together to support commerce, agriculture, industry and national integration.
Shettima explained that the federal government’s transport reform agenda was anchored on the nationwide rollout of Compressed Natural Gas, major port upgrades and a stronger logistics chain.
This, he said, was aimed at improving working conditions for transport workers across road, rail, maritime, aviation and pipeline operations.
The vice president maintained that the Tinubu administration was determined to build a transport economy that lowers the cost of movement, reduces delays at ports, connects farms to markets, strengthens national productivity and gives transporters a more dignified place in the country’s development process.
“Our vision is an unbroken logistics chain, where a container moves from a deep-sea port to a rail wagon, then to a CNG-powered truck, then to a trader in Ariaria Market or Maiduguri, without delay or policy failure,” he added.
He said the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative has begun to prove that Nigeria can use its domestic gas resources to reduce the cost of transportation, especially for heavy-duty vehicles, while government continues to address the technical and infrastructure concerns affecting smaller vehicles.
“We said CNG could cut fuel costs by over 60 per cent, and many called it a fantasy. Today, heavy-duty trucks run on Nigerian gas, proving sceptics wrong and returning money to your pockets,” he stated.
Shettima added that the administration was also pushing reforms in the maritime sector through the operationalisation of Lekki Deep Sea Port, the development of the National Single Window and renewed attention to inland waterways, saying the objective is to make Nigerian ports more efficient and globally competitive.
“Before this administration, clearing a container could become an encounter with frustration, corruption, and decay. We promised to unlock the blue economy. Today, with Lekki Deep Sea Port operational, the National Single Window taking shape, and inland waterways receiving attention, our ports are preparing to compete with the world’s best,” he said.
The Vice President also assured transporters that the Federal Government would continue to support policies that promote affordable fuel, insurable fleets, bankable contracts and dignified working conditions.
“This administration shall continue to stand with the Nigerian transporter. We shall continue to fight for affordable fuel, insurable fleets, bankable contracts, and dignified working conditions. We shall build roads that last, rails that stretch across this great nation, ports that breathe, and airports that reflect our pride,” Shettima said.
Earlier in his remarks, Segun Obayendo, technical adviser to the Vice President on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, said the group, which constitutes a critical engine of Nigeria’s socio-economic survival, was unanimous in its endorsement and support for the Tinubu/Shettima presidency in the 2027 presidential election.
He said the executives of all the groups in the nation’s transport sector comprising air, maritime, rail and road unions, had consulted widely and were emphatic about their conviction and support for the Tinubu administration based on its achievements across different sectors.
Obayendo said the group was convinced that the Tinubu’s administration has set the country on the path of positive growth hence they are prepared to mobilise the support of members of the various unions in the transport sector to ensure Mr President’s re-election in 2027.
On his part, Oniha Erazua, secretary-general of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), expressed gratitude to the Tinubu’s administration for the recognition given to unions in the transport sector in his government.
He said transporters and other stakeholders are convinced that the reforms of the Tinubu administration in the sector would yield greater dividends if sustained, hence their resolve to support the Tinubu/Shettima ticket in the 2027 election.
