- Says Tinubu administration is committed to achieving the 12 year old dream
By Seyi Babalola
Twelve years after the idea was first mooted, Nigeria may soon get a National Transportation Databank, the Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali said yesterday.
Restating his commitment to the actualization of the databank, Alkali reminded that the National Council on Transportation (NCT), the highest advisory council for the formulation of policies in the transportation sector nationwide, had at its meeting in Markurdi, Benue State in 2012, called for its establishment of a National Transportation Databank, a data driven resource that would be available nationwide.
The National Transport Databank will be domiciled in Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State, and the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
Speaking while declaring open a one-day stakeholders engagement forum on smart transport data bank, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Alkali said the Tinubu administration is committed to giving the nation a befitting national databank in line with its renewed hope agenda.
Alkali therefore called on participants to come up with far reaching resolutions that would have far reaching implications and effects on the nation’s transportation industry and bring it to be at par with global standards.
He said: “With the caliber of distinguished guests, stakeholders, participants and resource persons gathered here, I am very optimistic that this event will come out with far reaching resolutions that will impact positively on the development of the Nigerian Transportation sector in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration.”
Drawing attention to the importance of transport data gathering to economic growth and development, Alkali said a Smart National Transport Databank, is fundamental to the development of the National Transport System and the forum is to provide the stakeholders a platform to guide the way towards an effective and efficient transport data collection and management system in the country.
He said the deployment of Artificial Intelligence by the global scene dictated that Nigeria must rework its system and embrace globalization in data collection and management adding that reviewing the existing transport data collection and management system, as well as developing an institutional framework for regular collection and analysis of transport data has become essential to national development.
“May I state categorically that since my assumption of office as the Minister of Transportation, I have made this project a top priority and it is my desire to give my maximum support for its success. I therefore wish to appeal to all relevant agencies within the Transport sector to cooperate with NITT by regularly supplying necessary data for storage, processing and dissemination. I therefore call on all the participants to take advantage of this opportunity and contribute meaningfully to achieve the objective of the event,” Alkali added.