National President of ANLCA, Hon. Iju Tony Nwabunike

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ANLCA has thrown its full weight behind the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration Nigeria CIoTA over its plans to revamp and professionalise the country’s disorganised transport sector, describing the move as a right step in the right direction.

President of the institute, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, had while presenting a welcome address, at the just concluded three-day maiden National Transport Summit organised in Abuja by CIoTA with the theme: Unlocking the Potential of Transport for Sustainable Growth”, pledged that the institute would intensify its advocacy in terms of advising the Federal Government on professionalising and improving the lot of the sector with a view to making it more efficient and creating jobs in the country.

National President of ANLCA, Hon. Tony Iju Nwabunike, who spoke at the sidelines of the summit, said that professionalising the transport sector would be the best thing to have happened to it, especially in the recent past, as it would help remove quackery and unprofessionalism and thereby attract huge direct investments needed to develop the sector.

According to him, as professional freight forwarders and major stakeholders in the supply chain in the country, members of the association have at one time or the other been victims of the poor and inefficient transport systems in the country and would therefore support any legal and genuine measures to address the challenges.

Hon. Nwabunike, who was inducted as a Fellow of the institute, also noted that as practitioners in international trade and commerce, members of ANLCA know and appreciate the role of efficient and effective transport and logistics services in terms of efficient delivery of cargo, arguing that efficient transport system would also lead to the efficiency of the nation’s sea and airports.

“I wish to use this medium to commend CIoTA for this wonderful initiative to reform the transport sector in Nigeria. In the course of this three-day event, several speakers have alluded to the fact that transport whether air, sea or land is the life-wire of any economy.

“This is why ANLCA as professional freight forwarders would like to align with the vision of CIoTA to ensure the connectivity of all the modes of transport in Nigeria. As major operators in the supply chain in Nigeria, we have had unpleasant experiences regarding the poor transport system in the country, we therefore fully support the vision of the institute to bring about professionalism in transport administration in Nigeria.

“Multi-modal transport system has become the in thing across the world, which has evidently brought about a lot of efficiency and cost reduction, especially among the developed world and so Nigeria cannot afford to sit on the fence in this 21st century and so must join the frail in reforming and modernising her transport systems.

“I therefore thank the President and Governing Council and indeed the entire membership of the institute for putting this National Summit together. I also urge the institute to ensure the implementation of the recommendations from this event and should be followed through for the benefit of not only the transport sector, but also the nation’s economy as a whole”, the ANLCA National President also said.

Recall that the CIoTA President had also said during the event: “We will continue to ensure that Nigeria has only professionals in the transport sector to handle issues affecting it. Nobody who does not have the right qualifications and certifications would be allowed to practice in the transport sector, members need to have up to date experience”.

Dr. Jamoh, who doubles as Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, disclosed that the institute is currently collaborating with the Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC to deploy a volunteer force, which will be drawn from the National Youth Service NYSC to help manage the perennial traffic in Apapa.