By IROYIN YORUBA TELEVISION
The Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria has announced plans to introduce a new professional regulatory framework designed to raise standards across the country’s transportation sector and restrict sensitive transport-management positions to people with appropriate professional qualifications and experience.
The proposed framework is expected to become one of the major issues at the institute’s 8th National Transport Conference scheduled to take place in Lagos in October, as industry professionals seek to address long-standing concerns about informality, weak regulation, inadequate professional standards and fragmented management across different modes of transportation.
The announcement comes only a day after stakeholders at a separate national transport summit called for stronger integration of road, rail, inland waterways, maritime and aviation systems.
Together, the developments point to a broader debate about how Nigeria can transform transportation from a largely fragmented collection of activities into a professionally managed industry capable of supporting trade, investment, employment and economic growth.
The National President of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria, Prince Segun Ochuko Obayendo, said the new framework would seek to prevent people without appropriate transport qualifications from occupying sensitive positions within the sector.
The proposed regulation is being developed under the legal authority of the institute’s enabling legislation and is expected to be formally unveiled at the forthcoming national conference.
The institute says the objective is not simply to introduce another qualification requirement but to establish clearer professional standards for an industry that affects virtually every part of Nigeria’s economy.
Transportation is responsible for moving workers, agricultural products, industrial inputs, manufactured goods, imported cargo and passengers across the country.
It also connects producers to markets and provides the physical link between ports, factories, warehouses, farms, cities and communities.
Despite that importance, significant parts of Nigeria’s transportation industry continue to operate informally.
Road transport remains particularly dominated by individual operators, small fleets and businesses that may not operate within fully structured professional systems.
The informal character of parts of the industry can make it difficult to collect accurate data, enforce consistent standards, monitor professional competence and establish clear lines of responsibility.
CIOTA argues that this situation needs to change if Nigeria is to build a modern transportation system.
Obayendo said the country cannot effectively integrate an informal transport sector into a modern multimodal network without first establishing appropriate professional and regulatory standards.
The argument is particularly relevant as Nigeria expands investment in railways, ports, inland waterways, airports and major road corridors.
Modern infrastructure requires modern management.
A railway station may have sophisticated facilities, but its economic value can be reduced if surrounding transport connections are poorly organised.
A port can have modern cargo-handling equipment but still experience delays if trucks, rail services and warehouses are not coordinated.
Similarly, a waterway can provide an alternative transport route but struggle to attract users if terminals, safety systems and logistics connections are inadequate.
Professional transport management is therefore increasingly being viewed as part of infrastructure development rather than as a separate issue.
The institute says transport professionals should possess the technical knowledge required to plan, operate, regulate and manage complex transportation systems.
Such knowledge can include logistics, transport economics, traffic management, safety, infrastructure planning, supply-chain management, maritime operations, aviation-related transportation management, railway operations and public transport administration.
The proposed regulation would create clearer expectations concerning who should occupy sensitive professional positions.
This could affect government institutions, private companies, transport operators, logistics firms and other organisations involved in the planning or administration of transportation.
The institute has compared the situation in Nigeria with developments in several European countries where governments began taking steps toward formalising transport operations many decades ago.
The comparison is being used by CIOTA to argue that Nigeria should accelerate its own professionalisation process rather than allowing informal practices to remain dominant.
The institute's position is that transportation should be treated as a specialised profession in the same way that other critical sectors require trained professionals.
The argument does not mean that every person working in transportation must hold an identical qualification.
The sector includes drivers, mechanics, engineers, logistics workers, ticketing personnel, vessel operators, pilots, railway staff, traffic officers, planners, administrators and many other categories of workers.
Different responsibilities require different skills.
The focus of the proposed regulation is particularly directed at leadership and sensitive administrative roles where decisions can affect large transport systems, public safety, infrastructure investment and economic activity.
CIOTA wants professional competence to become a more important consideration when people are appointed to such positions.
The institute has also linked the proposed reform to the formalisation of the transport sector.
Formalisation can involve registering operators, establishing professional records, improving data collection, creating enforceable standards and ensuring that businesses operate under clearly defined rules.
For government, better formalisation could improve the quality of transportation statistics.
Accurate statistics are important because policymakers need to know how many vehicles are operating, how much cargo is being moved, where congestion occurs, how many passengers use particular routes and what economic value is generated by different transport modes.
Without reliable data, infrastructure planning becomes more difficult.
CIOTA has challenged the commonly cited estimate of transportation’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product, arguing that the figure may not fully capture the economic value generated by informal activities.
The institute has pointed to the estimated value of goods and services moved through Nigeria’s transport system during 2025 as evidence of the sector’s wider economic importance.
The distinction between the value of goods transported and the transport sector’s direct contribution to GDP is important.
Goods can have very high values while the actual transport service represents only a portion of that value.
Nevertheless, the amount of economic activity dependent on transportation demonstrates why the sector deserves effective regulation and professional management.
The institute has called for national economic statistics to better capture transportation activities, particularly those occurring in informal road and inland-waterway operations.
Improved data could help government identify where investment is most urgently needed.
For example, if freight data show that particular corridors are carrying unusually high volumes of agricultural products, road and rail investments could be planned around those routes.
If passenger data reveal severe pressure on a particular urban corridor, public transport capacity could be increased.
If waterways are shown to have significant potential for bulk cargo, investment can be directed toward jetties, terminals, navigation systems and safety infrastructure.
Professional management and better data can therefore reinforce one another.
Another major concern identified by CIOTA is the relationship between informal transport operations and the country's ambition to develop an integrated multimodal system.
Nigeria is currently seeking stronger connections between roads, railways, ports, inland waterways and aviation.
The Federal Government has already unveiled a national land transport policy aimed at creating a more integrated, efficient, safe, affordable and sustainable transportation system.
The policy recognises that individual transport modes should not operate as isolated systems.
The new CIOTA professionalisation initiative fits into this wider policy direction because multimodal transportation requires coordination between multiple organisations and professional disciplines.
A container arriving at a seaport may move onto a train, then a truck and eventually reach a warehouse.
At every stage, different operators must understand their responsibilities and coordinate with one another.
A lack of professional standards at one point in the chain can create delays or safety problems elsewhere.
The same applies to passenger transportation.
A traveller may use a private vehicle to reach a railway station, board a train, transfer to a bus and eventually use a ferry.
If each part of that journey operates under completely different standards, the overall travel experience can become inefficient.
Integrated transport requires common expectations regarding safety, information, ticketing, scheduling, accessibility and operational coordination.
Professional transport administrators can play an important role in creating those connections.
CIOTA also intends to address the issue of safety.
Transportation safety depends on infrastructure, vehicle condition, operator behaviour, enforcement and management.
A professionally managed transport system should have procedures for risk assessment, emergency response, maintenance, incident reporting and continuous improvement.
This applies across road, rail, water and aviation operations.
For inland waterways, for example, safety requires properly registered vessels, life-saving equipment, trained operators, navigation procedures and enforcement of passenger limits.
The National Inland Waterways Authority has continued to emphasise these requirements as the government seeks to increase the role of waterways in national transportation.
For road transportation, professional management includes vehicle inspection, driver training, route planning, traffic management and enforcement.
For railways, it includes track maintenance, signalling, rolling-stock management, security and operational planning.
Professionalisation therefore has practical implications for public safety.
The institute also believes that greater professional standards could encourage investment.
Investors are more likely to commit capital to an industry when regulations are clear, responsibilities are defined and professional standards are predictable.
Transport infrastructure requires large amounts of capital and often takes many years to generate returns.
Private investors considering freight terminals, logistics hubs, truck parks, rail equipment, water transport services or other facilities need confidence that the operating environment will remain stable.
A formal professional framework can contribute to that predictability if it is designed and implemented transparently.
However, formalisation also presents challenges.
Millions of Nigerians depend directly or indirectly on informal transportation for their livelihoods.
Small-scale bus operators, motorcycle and tricycle operators, boat operators, individual truck owners and other transport workers may not have the resources to immediately comply with complex professional or administrative requirements.
Any transition toward greater formalisation will therefore need to consider how smaller operators can comply.
Training, affordable certification, registration systems and phased implementation could help reduce the burden.
If regulation is introduced without considering the realities of small operators, there is a risk that some businesses could be pushed further outside the formal system.
The success of the reform will consequently depend on how the new framework is implemented.
CIOTA has said awareness will be an important part of the process.
The institute intends to communicate the requirements to relevant organisations before the formal unveiling so that institutions and operators have an opportunity to understand the proposed standards.
The approach is particularly important because professional regulation can affect employment and management structures.
Organisations need time to assess existing personnel, identify training requirements and determine whether staff members need additional qualifications.
The institute has stressed that the purpose of the initiative is to build a more professional sector rather than simply exclude people.
Its argument is that transportation should be managed by people who understand the technical and economic consequences of decisions made within the industry.
The upcoming 8th National Transport Conference will provide a platform for discussing these issues in greater detail.
The conference is scheduled for October 13 and 14 in Lagos and is expected to bring together policymakers, transport professionals, investors, academics, development partners and operators from different parts of the industry.
The theme is focused on integrated multimodal transport systems and sustainable development.
Discussions are expected to cover national multimodal transport integration, urban mobility, logistics and supply-chain competitiveness, intelligent transport systems, digital innovation, green transportation, climate resilience, infrastructure financing, public-private partnerships and professional development.
These issues are closely connected.
Digital transport systems require skilled personnel.
Green transportation requires professionals who understand new vehicle technologies, energy systems and infrastructure requirements.
Public-private partnerships require administrators who can understand contracts, financing and performance management.
Urban mobility planning requires people who can analyse traffic patterns, population growth and public transport demand.
The professionalisation debate therefore extends beyond one regulation.
It is part of a larger effort to establish transportation as a specialised field of national economic management.
The institute has also called for stronger media engagement so that members of the public understand the proposed changes.
Public understanding will be important because transport reform affects everyday life.
Changes in professional standards can influence the way transport companies are managed, while improvements in formalisation could affect how operators register and conduct business.
Passengers and businesses also have an interest in knowing whether the people responsible for transport systems have the necessary competence.
At the same time, regulatory authorities will need to ensure that professional standards do not become unnecessarily bureaucratic.
The goal should be to improve competence, safety and accountability while keeping legitimate participation in the industry possible.
Another issue is enforcement.
A regulation can only change behaviour if there are effective mechanisms for ensuring compliance.
That will require coordination between CIOTA, government ministries, regulators, transport companies and other relevant institutions.
The legal basis of the institute's authority will also be important in determining how the new framework interacts with existing laws and regulatory bodies.
Nigeria already has numerous agencies responsible for different transport modes.
The Federal Ministry of Transportation oversees broad policy responsibilities, while specialised institutions regulate railways, waterways, maritime operations and other aspects of the sector.
State governments also have significant responsibilities over road transportation and urban mobility.
The professional framework must therefore operate within this existing regulatory architecture.
Clear coordination will help prevent duplication or conflict between professional regulation and statutory regulatory functions.
If properly implemented, the proposed framework could provide a clearer professional identity for transport administration in Nigeria.
It could also help create a career pathway for young Nigerians interested in transportation, logistics, urban mobility and supply-chain management.
As the sector becomes more technology-driven, demand is likely to increase for professionals who understand data analysis, digital logistics, intelligent transportation systems and sustainable mobility.
Nigeria's large population and expanding urban centres make transportation a growing area of economic activity.
The country will require more efficient movement of people and goods as industrial production, agriculture, trade and urbanisation continue to expand.
That expansion will place additional pressure on existing infrastructure and management systems.
Professionalisation alone will not solve congestion, poor roads, inadequate rail connections or insufficient transport infrastructure.
But the people responsible for planning and managing those systems will influence how effectively investments are used.
This is why CIOTA's proposal has become part of the broader conversation about transport reform.
The institute is seeking to establish a system in which transportation is treated as a professional field with defined standards, qualifications and responsibilities rather than an area where almost anyone can assume a management role without relevant expertise.
The proposed regulatory framework is expected to be formally unveiled at the October conference.
Its practical impact will depend on the final provisions, how they are enforced, how existing professionals are transitioned into the framework and how smaller operators are accommodated.
The wider transportation sector is already undergoing major changes, including the expansion of rail infrastructure, development of deep-sea ports, investment in inland waterways, digital logistics systems, cleaner vehicle technologies and efforts to improve urban mobility.
Those investments will require competent management.
The professionalisation initiative therefore arrives at a significant point in Nigeria's transport development.
The country is attempting to build a system capable of moving larger volumes of goods, supporting growing cities and connecting different transport modes.
For that system to function effectively, infrastructure and professional capacity will need to develop together.
CIOTA's proposed regulation is now positioned as one of the mechanisms through which that professional capacity could be strengthened.
The coming months will show how the framework is received by government agencies, private operators, existing transport professionals and the millions of Nigerians whose livelihoods depend on the sector.
The ultimate objective remains the development of a transportation system that is safer, better organised, more accountable and capable of supporting Nigeria's economic ambitions.
For an industry that connects virtually every other part of the economy, the debate over professional standards is therefore becoming an increasingly important part of Nigeria's wider transportation reform agenda.