The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Nigeria, has said it would offer solutions and advised the government on the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Speaking at a pre-conference webinar on the 2023 National Conference and Yearly General Meeting, the president of the institute, Mfon Usoro, said the event, which will hold in Lagos from November 27 to 28, 2023, with the theme: ‘Designing the Future of Transportation and Logistics in Africa: the Need for Dialogue’, will have the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

She reaffirmed that policymakers and implementation agencies will attend the conference, adding that over 500 participants will be adding value to the event.

Usoro noted that paper presentations will cut across all modes of transportation pointing out that the year’s event will be of international standard.

Usoro, a former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) affirmed that researchers and academicians will deliver top-notch paper presentations to enlighten and educate participants.
She added that the event will also host cultural sessions to promote the rich heritage of Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Chairman Planning Committee of the conference, Prof. Kayode Oyesiku, said the choice of holding the conference in Lagos in succession shows also that the state metropolis offers a diversified, multimodal transportation system.

Also speaking, the CILT Conference Planning Sub-Committee Chairman, Dr. Ogo Ugboma, said the institute has gone a great length to get experts in various fields to look at the discussions at the event.

Some of the discussions include cross-border trade and regional integration, which would be led by Prof Jonathan Aremu, an ECOWAS regional expert on trade as well as Infrastructure Development and Management, among other discussions.

According to Ugboma, participants at the two-day conference would go on a tour of the Lagos waterways, as well as a ride on the Lagos Light railway from Marina to Mile 2, which is tagged: “Experience a Refreshing Inland Waterways Boat of Lagos Lagoon.”

Ugboma said the Yearly General Meeting would be used to inaugurate the newly elected executives of CILT Nigeria in the recently conducted electronic elections, in which Usoro was re-elected as President.

On his part, the Chairman, Lagos State CILT, Bashir Ambi, said there would be a book launch titled: ‘Perspective on Sustainable Innovation in Global Logistics and Transportation’.