Fashola sees compliance to axle load regulations opening door of opportunity, prosperity
The minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, says there is a massive door of opportunity and prosperity of cross-border trade to Nigerians engaged in the transport business that will open because of Nigeria’s compliance with the axle load regulations on roads in West Africa.
The minister spoke against the backdrop of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent signing of treaty obligations within the West African sub-region and beyond that regulates the amount of load any goods vehicle can put on an axle and, by extension, on the road in order to do business within the region.
At a one-day public enlightenment workshop on ‘Developments in the Road Sector’, where he presented the ‘Federal Highways (Control of Dimensions, Weights and Axle Load) Regulations 2018’, Fashola explained that sensitising road transporters and imbibing the existing treaty obligations is the only way to optimise the opportunities that lie in road networks like Trans-Saharan highway that connects Nigeria to Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Mali and Algeria; the Lagos- Abidjan Highway through Benin, Togo and Ghana, or the Enugu-Cameroon Highway through Abakaliki – Ogoja, Ikom and Mfum.
The workshop, which was specifically held for stakeholders in the road sector including the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association, was opened by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who represented President Buhari.
Fashola commended the president for finally signing the instrument of ratification as soon as it was brought to his attention, saying, “this meeting is critical to the achievement of our common goal for shared prosperity; our compliance with these regulations will open a massive door of opportunity and prosperity of cross-border trade to Nigerians engaged in the transport business”.
In a Communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, participants expressed appreciation to the federal government for the on-going rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads across the country, stressing the need for enforcement of axle load limit to safeguard the nation’s road infrastructure. They also emphasized the need for the reintroduction of toll gates on federal highways as a means to improving revenue generation for the maintenance of the roads.
Realizing the damaging effects of overloading on the nation’s road network, participants advocated that all Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) owners and operators should abide by the new axle load limit regime in Nigeria in line with the ECOWAS Supplementary Act/SP.17/02/12 relating to the harmonization of standards and procedures for the control of dimensions, weight and axle load of goods vehicles within the ECOWAS member states.
Other highpoints of the Communiqué are reaffirmation of the need to operationalize the weighbridge stations on federal roads to check overloading, recognizing the need for adherence by motorists to road signage for safety; need for all stakeholders to join hands to halt the abuse on Nigerian roads and agreement that tank farm owners and sea port operators should comply with the axle load limits by installing weighbridges at their depots/ports.
Also present at the occasion were the minister of transportation, ChibuikeAmaechi, represented by Anthonia Ekpa, FCT minister, represented by the executive secretary of federal capital development authority (FCDA) U.G. Jibrin, Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Boboye Oyeyemi.
CHUKA UROKO