Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE), has appealed to members of the National Assembly to pass the Road Sector Reform Bill into law, saying that it is critical to the development of the road sector.
National chairman, NIHTE, Engr George Nsonwu, made this known at the recently concluded national conference and annual general meeting of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE) in Abuja.
Nsonwu, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, said that if the Road Reform Bill were passed into law, it would solve most of the challenges facing the transport sector and other economic sectors in the country.
According to him, the bill would also give room for private sector involvement in the construction of road infrastructures in Nigeria.
Speaking on the mandate of the institution he said that NIHTE caters for the welfare of highway and transportation engineers in Nigeria across various stakeholder organisations in the Nigerian engineering sector.
Nsonwu explained that the institution since its establishment has made landmark achievements in areas of professional development, advocacy and engagement with the government.
The guest speaker, Engr Felix Atume, while delivering his lecture titled, “The Implementation of the Presidential Executive Order Seven (7) as it Affects the Procurement of Highway Projects in Nigeria,” spoke on the task ahead of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers.
He lauded the reported taking over for rehabilitation of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway by MTN Nigeria. He said that such intervention is what is required to keep Nigerian roads in good shape.