The Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, says only duly registered road transport unions will benefit from the Federal Government’s N10 billion intervention fund for road transport workers and operators.
Saraki said this in Abuja on Tuesday when the National President, National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (NACTOMORAS), Alhaji Muhammed Sani Hassan, led its members on a courtesy visit.
She, however, urged the association to ensure that its members were duly registered because only properly registered road transporters would be considered for the palliative.
Saraki praised the association for the visit and called for a synergy among transport stakeholders in efforts to develop the sector.
The minister assured the delegation of the Federal Government’s commitment to assisting transport associations and unions, while instilling discipline in the sector through a regulatory framework.
Saraki said that the coronavirus pandemic had necessitated the need for contact tracing of passengers, as normalcy was gradually being restored in the country.
According to Saraki, the ministry is aware of the roles which tricycle and commercial motorcycle operators play in the transport sector.
In his remark, Hassan urged the minister to give the transport operators and owners a special consideration in the disbursement of the intervention fund.
The NACTOMORAS president said that members of the association were mostly affected by the pandemic.
He said that the pandemic had stripped members of their little savings due to the stay-at-home order of the Federal Government, aimed at containing the spread of the virus.
“It was a sigh of relief when news emerged that the Federal Government had approved a N10 billion support for the road transport operators to assuage their suffering,” he added.
