The Honourable Minister Of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo has called on Nigerians to leverage on technology to improve the contributions of transportation to national development.
Sambo made the call in Abuja during the Executive Session of the 17th National Council on Transportation (NCT) themed, “Transportation Technology and Innovations for Socio-Economic Sustainability”.
The Minister who said transportation sector is unique and dynamic added that it does not exist for itself but rather serves as a veritable platform for other sectors of the economy to flourish.
“Dear stakeholders, you will all agree with me that the premium placed on the transportation sector cannot be overemphasized.
“It encourages, among other things, social interaction and socioeconomic integration, access to education, healthcare, commerce and development.
“Therefore, it is appropriate to say that transportation is to the economy as blood is to the human body.
“To further improve on the contribution of Transportation to Nigeria’s development, we need to leverage the potential of Technology hence, the relevance of this years’ theme.” he said.
The Minister said President Muhammadu Buhari led administration understood the imperatives and prioritized the transportation sector in all the development plans which included the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) and the current Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP 2021-2025) which is a segment of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 long term plan being developed by the current administration
He recalled that the Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy as well as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation were recently rebranded to show the importance of Technology in recent times.
“Technology contributed about 18.44 percent to the Nation’s GDP in the second quarter of 2022 as against 6.33 percent contribution of the oil Sector.
“Hence, there is no gain saying that all over the world, Technology/ICT has taken the centre stage of human interactions as it has reduced cost of production, ensures efficient movement of goods & Services, simplifies communication processes and improves overall quality of life.
” if Transportation is to continue to be relevant to drive an innovative and digital economy, then Transportation Stakeholders in Nigeria must envision the future together, strategise, and adopt SMART goals that can be implemented to withstand the dynamic trends and changes the sector is constantly experiencing around the world,” he said.
