Senate finally passes national transport commission bill

The Senate finally passed the National Transport Commission Bill after a clause by clause consideration of the bill on Thursday, March 15, 2018

The bill was sponsored for the first time in 2008 but could not be passed till the end of the assembly due to its complex nature.

The current version of the National Transport Commission Bill was sponsored by Senator Andy Uba and was read for the second time on the floor of the Senate on October 7, 2015, after which the Senate referred the Bill to the Joint Senate Committee of Land Transport, Marine Transport and Aviation Transport chaired by Senator Gbenga Ashafa representing Lagos East Senatorial District.

Senator Ashafa and other members held interactive sessions with stake holders in the Transport Industry to evaluate the bill including a public hearing to enable them diligently handle the bill before same was presented to the Senate for third reading.

Commenting on the passage of the bill by the Senate, Ashafa expressed his excitement having worked assiduously with other members of the committee and stake holders to ensure that the best possible version of the bill is passed into law.

He said, "The National Transport Commission when signed into law is capable of setting the transport sector on the path of positive development. With this bill, we would successfully create a multi-modal transport sector economic and safety oversight regulator for the transport sector.

"This is very good for business as it brings standard and structure to the transport sector while also increasing the revenue of Government.

"The Joint Senate Committee worked with the understanding that this is one of the priority Economic Bills of the 8th Senate and therefore ensured that all inputs from stake holders were considered and the best possible version of the bill was presented to the Senate."

The Senator concluded by expressing appreciation to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for his commitment to prioritising bills that would have great impact on the economy.

The National Transport Commission Bill, when signed into law, will create a multi-modal transport sector economic and safety oversight commission that will drive the National Transport Policy.