Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The federal government’s plan to bring back the practice of tolling its own share of Nigeria’s 200,000 kilometres road network thursday got the support of three critical stakeholders in the country’s road transportation business and oil industry – the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
The three unions, in a meeting with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, in Abuja, stated their willingness to back the government’s decision to toll its roads, saying they were tired of the frequency and level of road breakdown in the country, and would in that regard pay tolls to ensure roads they drive on are fixed and in good conditions to travel through.
The unions also called on the government to ban the importation and use of petroleum tankers that have container capacities above 45,000 litres. According to them, tankers above this capacity have exerted a lot of pressure on Nigerian roads, and need to be phased out.
Specifically, the National Chairman of PTD and NUPENG, Mr. Salimon Oladiti, and National President of NUPENG, Mr. Igwe Achese, indicated the unions’ backing of the tolling policy immediately after the President of NARTO, Dr. Kassim Bataiya, presented their recommendations on how the government could tackle the frequent breakdown of its roads.
According to the ministry, out of Nigeria’s total 200,000 kilometres road network, the federal government reportedly has and manages 34,000 kilometres which represents 17 per cent of the country’s total road network. States and local governments control the balance of 15 per cent and 68 per cent respectively, but the federal government’s roads record the highest of Nigeria’s vehicular traffic and movement of goods.
However, Bataiya, said in his remarks that while the government repeatedly accuse trucks of overloading and exceeding the recommended axle weight thereby contributing to the breakdown of the roads, the unions were of the opinion that irregular standards in road designs, use of materials, construction and supervision of road works have contributed more to the damage.
He noted that corruption and inadequate funding have also contributed to making Nigerian roads bad, hence the decision of the unions to support tolling.
On what the government should do to tackle the challenges, Bataiya, said: “The federal government should ban the importation of 60,000 litres capacity tanks into the country. All tank manufacturers and fabricators should be warned against constructing any truck body or tank of 50,000 or 60,000 litres capacity.
“Trucks of 45,000 litres should be adopted as the maximum capacity that will be allowed to ply Nigerian roads. Presently, they constitute about 40 and 50 per cent of the total truck holding in the country.â€
He also called on the government to give the NARTO up to five years before introducing the ban, adding that government should also ban transportation of goods above 30 tonnes by road, and enforce rail transportation of same.
“All electric transformers, generators, equipment, machine, plants and 40 feet containers of more than 30 tonnes should be transported by rail. The ministry should construct weigh bridges on all federal highways within a distance of 100 kilometres interval,†Bataiya, added.
The unions also made some long term recommendations, all of which Fashola, said the government would consider.
Fashola, in his remarks, also noted that the government had previously planned to engage the unions in a conversation on the recommendations they made. He said the engagement would still go on to iron out the final details of government’s plan for the country’s road infrastructure and the roles it expects of the unions.
