By Lucy Ogalue
The Ministry of Transportation will partner and encourage the initiatives of the Transport and Logistics Institute to educate Nigerians more on the sector.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this in a statement by Mr Gift Okpara, his Media Aide on Sunday in Abuja.
Amaechi disclosed this while laying the foundation for the transport institute at the Gregory University, Uturu (GUU) in Abia State.
He said: “As Minister of Transportation, I am willing to partner and encourage the University in its initiative to educate Nigerians in the Transportation and Logistics field.
“Taking advantage of the Federal Government’s development strides in Transportation particularly the rail and maritime sectors.
“We’ll see how we’ll partner with the university in the Ministry of Transportation, especially when we start the construction of the Bonny-Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line.
“We are very particular about localising Railway technology, that’s why we are training our people in China and even made them to build a Transportation university and a wagon Assembly plant here in Nigeria.”
While making the commencement speech at the University’s 8th matriculation ceremony, Amaechi encouraged the students to be diligent and be courageous to ensure that they succeeded.
Chancellor and founder of GUU, Prof. Gregory Ibe, said he was inspired by Amaechi’s developmental strides in the transportation ministry.
Ibe said the school was enthusiastic to tap into that sector and aid the growth and training of Nigerians to become professionals in Transportation engineering and technology.
He said: “What we are doing here is to input technology, change methodology and then we are succeeding.
“And one of the things that we must succeed in line with your agenda in the ministry is to have this institute here, so that we can now train everybody.
“This university has a printing press, a paint factory, a sew factory, everything is produced here, we do fibre glasses here.
“Everything we do here, we do it because technology is done by human beings and I don’t see any reason why our Nigerian boys and girls who are well gifted cannot be trained in what we are doing.
“Any skill we get into, we perfect it, and in transport, to support the ministry, we are now creating something that you’ve come here to lay the foundation,” Ibe said.
In his remark the Deputy Governor of Abia, Ude Chukwu, sought the Ministry of Transportation’s assistance in ensuring that the planned inland dry ports for the State was achieved.
He pledged the State government’s willingness to support the Federal Government in any project it undertake in the state.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Institute upon completion will offer specialised transportation courses.
It is expected to provide specialised laboratories for Maritime and Oceanography, Aviation/Aeronautic, Designing and Construction Suites, Aerospace Engineering, Central Machining tools centre, Railway Engineering and simulation rooms.