By Kenneth Jukpor
The Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics (CILT), Nigeria has inducted 145 persons into the Institute, even as the National President, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril commended the influx of professionals into the sector in recent times.
Eighteen (18) persons were inducted as Chattered Fellows, seventy (70) as Chattered Members while fifty-seven (57) were inducted as members at the induction ceremony which also marked the 3rd CILT Industry Leadership Lecture in Lagos at the weekend.
While addressing journalists at the event, the National President noted that the level of professionalism in the industry had improved tremendously as a result of increased number of professionals at CILT.
Jibril who is also the Magayakin Zazzau of Zaria, said; “The fact that we are having more induction ceremonies means that we are having more members which mean an increased level of professionalism in the sector. People are no longer satisfied with just functioning as operators, they want to be professionals and this is a good development for sector and the nation”
Meanwhile, as a short term measure to dissipate the port congestion and traffic gridlocks on port access roads, he admonished the Federal Government to utilize the waterways to evacuate empty containers via barges.
He said, “The road is the only accessible mode of transport to the ports and the military are doing a marvelous job to enable people have access to the seaports and their offices and that is a good intervention. However, there are other ways which include using the waterways to bring in containers into the ports especially using the waterways to remove empty containers”
“This means the government can create holding bays for empty containers at Badagry for easy movement of containers through barges and this will stop trucks from coming to the ports to drop empty containers thereby adding to the traffic congestion. We are making suggestions in that regard, we have also started discussing with some organizations to see that something happens in that line,” he told journalists.
The CILT President also called for the drafting of a National Logistics Policy to help grow the Logistics and Transport sector.
Explaining the need for a national logistics policy, he said; “We should be able to have a
logistics policy because it will be more encompassing; we can’t have logistics without transportation and it is high time we start looking at how we will draft logistics policy for the country because it is germane to the growth of the sector”
While delivering the lecture on “Human Resources Development in the Logistics and Transport Industry” Professor Osi S. Akpoghomeh expressed confidence that the transportation, distribution and logistics industry was evolving with several inter-related activities.
Prof. Osi encouraged the audience to look ahead and carefully consider their career paths, having chosen a field of interest in logistics and transport.
According to Prof Osi., a career pathway is an area of concentration within a career cluster. “Each pathway contains group of careers requiring similar academic and technical skills as well as similar industry certifications or post-secondary education” he said.
The induction ceremony was held under the Chairmanship of the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engr. Freeborn Okhiria.
