Shettima: Tinubu’s Infrastructure Devt in Line with Transporters’ Welfare, Others

• Says govt working towards reducing transportation cost nationwide 

•Inaugurates transporters support group for president’s re-election, tasks them on peaceful, issue-based campaign

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, said President Bola Tinubu was deeply committed to prioritising transport infrastructure to ease operations for Nigerian transporters.

Shettima said the Tinubu administration treated connectivity as an economic necessity and was actively working to reduce the cost of movement because the president did not take the struggles of transport workers for granted.

Shettima spoke in Abuja while formally inaugurating the National Working Committee of the National Structure of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027.

He observed that there was no group in the country that connected communities as much as transporters.

Represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, the vice president stated that beyond their operational duty, transport workers were unparalleled ambassadors of the nation.

Pointing out that the transportation industry stood at the heart of economic boom, Shettima said the sector “determines whether a farmer reaches a market, whether a manufacturer moves goods, whether a trader restocks, whether a student reaches school, and whether an investor connects production to demand”.

He stated, “Every kilometre saved, every bottleneck removed, every port made more efficient, and every safer journey completed contributes to national productivity. This is why we can’t afford to take you for granted.

“This understanding also explains why President Bola Tinubu has remained committed to infrastructure that eases your operations. Across highways, rail corridors, ports, clean mobility initiatives, and logistics infrastructure, the administration has treated connectivity as an economic necessity.”

The vice president described transport workers as credible witnesses to the administration’s struggles, while also acknowledging their role in conveying people and goods across the nation on a daily basis.

He said, “So, to have the men and women whose daily work moves Nigeria organise themselves across every region and mode of transport to give  President Bola Tinubu another chance speaks to your understanding of what has been achieved and the unfinished tasks ahead of us.”

He recalled that on June 15, he had welcomed the transport workers to “the fold of patriots who’ve come together to promote the interests of the nation above misinformation, disinformation and economic sabotage”.

Shettima said he did so based on his belief that Nigerian transporters could help the country’s “diverse communities understand the Renewed Hope Agenda and participate responsibly” in the country’s democratic process.

He explained, “Barely three months later, you have built structures across the country, drawing in road transporters, railway workers, aviation stakeholders, maritime operators, inland waterways practitioners, logistics providers, and those engaged in pipeline transportation. I commend the dedication and patriotism behind this national spread.”

Describing them as unparalleled ambassadors of the country, the vice president said this explained why the Tinubu administration would not rest until it put “a system in place where the dignity of operators is guaranteed, traffic laws are upheld, and passengers are protected”.

He added, “The fast-evolving technologies of your industry are a reality check we cannot afford to ignore, and that’s why your friendship, your support, your endorsement and your expectations are critical to where we are headed.”

Shettima, however, cautioned the transport workers to keep their activities peaceful and their campaign issue-based, pointing out that no political objective is improved by disorder.

He stated, “I appeal to each of you to remember that political participation places obligations on those who organise others. Keep your engagements peaceful and your message issue-based, even as he implored them to reject violence, threats, intimidation, misinformation, and every form of electoral misconduct.

“No political objective is improved by disorder, and no democratic cause is strengthened by fear. Nigeria’s future must be argued in the open, tested by citizens, and decided through credible elections.

“We have emphasised time and again that an election is not an act of war. Elections are opportunities for each citizen or group to express their interests and demonstrate their preferences, and you have chosen well.

“You do this based on your convictions, and that’s why the journey ahead requires you to exercise maturity and resist distractions in your engagements with the communities that already hold you in high esteem.”

Earlier, National Coordinator of the Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, Segun Obayendo, said the support of stakeholders in the country’s transport and logistics sector was driven by the impactful reforms and investments of the Tinubu administration in the ecosystem.

Obayendo, who is also Technical Adviser to the President on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, said the inauguration of structures of the Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027 was critical to building a consensus among members for the purpose of the president’s re-election.

He assured that they would work relentlessly for the success of the Tinubu administration.

Deputy National Organising Secretary of APC, Emeka Okafor, applauded the commitment and support of the group for the re-election of Tinubu, stating that the administration’s performance across different sectors is a justification for his re-election.