Tinubu’s infrastructure projects aimed at improving transporters’ operations, says Shettima

The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo and professor of Transport Planning and Policy at the Lagos State University (LASU), Samuel Odewumi, has called for stricter penalties against perpetrators and buyers of vandalised transport infrastructure, warning that weak surveillance and the lucrative scrap-metal market are fuelling the menace.

Odewumi made the call during the ongoing National Council on Transportation (NCT) summit, where the issue of vandalism of rail and road infrastructure featured prominently.

He said that the persistence of vandalism was not primarily due to the absence of security agencies, but rather a deeper societal problem characterised by the erosion of values and patriotism.

Odewumi described the situation as a “horrifying reality”, noting that attacks on public infrastructure ultimately undermine the prosperity and security of the wider population.

He stressed that security agencies could not be physically present across Nigeria’s extensive transport corridors, making community participation and technology essential to tackling the problem.

He added that slow prosecution of offenders and possible collaboration by insiders had further made the crime profitable and relatively low-risk.

He called for tighter regulation of the scrap-metal trade, insisting that dealers should be licensed and monitored.
MEANWHILE, Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that President Bola Tinubu’s massive infrastructure investments are designed to ease the operations of transporters and reduce the cost of movement across the country.

Shettima stated this yesterday in Abuja while inaugurating the National Working Committee of the National Structure of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, a support group mobilising transport workers for the President’s re-election.

The Vice President, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hadejia, said the administration regarded connectivity as an economic necessity, noting that transporters played a critical role in driving national productivity.

He said transport workers were responsible for connecting communities and ensuring that people, agricultural produce and manufactured goods reached their destinations.

Earlier, the National Coordinator of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, Segun Obayendo, said the group’s support for the President was driven by the reforms and investments of the Tinubu administration in the transport and logistics sector.

Obayendo, who is also Technical Adviser to the President on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, said the inauguration of the group’s structures was aimed at building consensus among stakeholders in support of Tinubu’s re-election.

He said that members would work relentlessly to ensure the success of the administration.

Also speaking, Deputy National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Emeka Okafor, commended the group for its commitment to Tinubu’s re-election.

Okafor said the administration’s performance across various sectors justified its bid for another term, urging transporters to use their extensive networks to mobilise nationwide support for Tinubu and other APC candidates in the 2027 general elections.