By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja – The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) said on Tuesday that poor or lack of proper regulation on road transport was responsible for poor management in the country’s road transport sector.
Mr Raynolds Shodeinde, an Assistant Director Administration in CILT, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that lack of proper regulation made the road transport sector an all-comers affair.
He said that the absence of guiding principles in the sector was also responsible for the incessant road accidents and chaos on Nigerian roads.
“when you live in an environment where there is no guiding principle, there will be anarchy and chaos, especially in the road transport sector.
“If you look at the aviation sector, it is organised; even the maritime is organised. But if you look at the road transport sector, it is the most unorganised.
“Africa has the lowest number of vehicular density but has the highest rate of road crashes in the world due to the lack of transport infrastructure and non-availability of policy.
“That is why we have been involved in the formation of a transport policy that can stand the test of time.
“If such a policy comes out, then you will see a very positive turn around, especially in our road transport sector.’’
Sodeinde noted that trucking was one of the major issues confronting the sector, adding that majority of the trucks on the roads were not built to required standards.
He said that many of the trucks that used to load goods such as petroleum products lacked the requisite integrity because of lack of regulation.
The CILT director said that majority of the drivers of those trucks were also not properly licensed and certified by the regulatory body to engage in such activities.
“Many trucks on Nigerian roads don’t meet standard requirements; and that is why you see trucks falling and breaking.
“The minimum gauge of about six millimetres thickness is the standard requirement for the body of a tanker; but many of them use materials of about two to three millimetres.
“If you use the standard material, even if it falls down, it does not spill until you come to evacuate it, because it is thick enough to contain it and that must be looked into.
“When the trucks load from depot, who certifies the content? the capacity of the truck? is it over loaded?
“From the point of origin, who certifies the quality of the trucks? the quality of the product that it is carrying; who certifies the driver that is driving the truck?
“So, a regulation gap exists that CILT is going to take care of when we have the enabling act because we see all these things, but there is a limit to which we can act,’’ he said.
Shodeinde noted that lack of legal backing for the institute had also made it difficult for it to pry into the affairs of the road transport operators.