The senate chambers
BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The senate has rejected a bill seeking to establish the National Road Transport Council.
The bill was thrown out after a debate led by Tahir Monguno, chief whip of the senate.
Monguno stood in for Ashiru Oyelola, senator representing Kwara south and sponsor of the bill.
Leading the debate on Thursday, Monguno said road transport is the lifeblood of the Nigerian economy.
The Borno senator said the bill would provide for a mandatory insurance scheme for all road users, adding that the council would cover transport unions such as the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
“The road transport sector is too important to be left in its current state of disarray,” Monguno said.
“The establishment of this council will provide a robust institutional and regulatory framework to address the current challenges bedevilling our road transport industry.”
Contributing to the debate, Osita Ngwu, senator representing Enugu west, said the bill is necessary to ensure that certain policies are put in place for safety on the roads.
Kicking against the bill, Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central, said there is no need for a council to formulate policies for road usage because federal and state agencies are already working to keep the roads safe.
“I don’t know what this council will do. Once we pass this bill, we will go into another bureaucracy,” Umeh said.
The bill was rejected after it was put to a voice vote by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
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