Harboursandport.com: Lagos - President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIoTA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has restated the institute’s commitment to safety of all modes of transportation in the country, especially those operated within the port environment.
Jamoh stated this on Tuesday in Lagos while reacting to a recent
incident where a container fell from a truck and landed on a commercial
vehicle, killing the occupants, including two employees of the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The CIoTA president, who is also Director-General of the Nigerian
Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), had in a separate telephone
conversation with the parents of the deceased conveyed the institute’s
condolences. He promised that the association would intensify its advisory role
on transportation matters to rid the sector of unsafe practices and ensure
smooth and safe movement.
In an address to members of the institute, Jamoh stated, “I spoke with
both parents (Mrs. Ajoku and Mr. Nnaekpe) of the two youthful FAAN employees
whose lives were sadly terminated by the fallen container while in a bus on
their way from work. As your president, I extended our collective heartfelt
sympathies to them in separate phone conversations.
“While comforting them, I also assured them that CIoTA will not only be
lending a voice to this matter but will play its full leadership role of
advocating for transportation safety on our roads.”
He disclosed that CIoTA had started engaging stakeholders in the
industry in a bid to find a lasting solution to the issue of safety,
particularly with regard to proper latching of containers onto articulated
vehicles, a major challenge that has faced transportation within the port
environment in recent times.
Jamoh said, “We have reached out to key state actors with a view to
getting their commitments as we strive to work towards a broad-based programme
that will involve critical stakeholders on the importance of safely and
properly latching containers and cargo to trucks before they leave the marine
and other import-export environments for our general road networks; while also
addressing the important issue of the competence and mental status of the
drivers.”
He charged stakeholders to be supportive of CIoTA’s drive, saying the
issue of safety in the sector can no longer take the back seat.
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