By Naomi Uzor

The President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan said over 90 per cent of the haulage of goods and the movement of persons are done through road transportation.

Speaking at the annual symposium of the automobile and allied products sector of the transport group with the theme “The Challenges of the Current Global Meltdown and its Impact on Automobile Standards, Safety and Maintenance”, Onafowokan said the automobile and allied sector is very critical to the growth of Nigeria economy and that over 90 per cent of the haulage of goods and the movement of persons are done through road transportation and that the sector is the life wire of the distributive trade sector of the economy.

“We shall continue to live with this reality as a nation until our railways get going again and until our pipelines are free from vandalisation and other forms of abuses. regrettably, the sector is yet to attract the level of policy attention that is commensurate to its contribution to the economy.  Apart from the general macro and micro economic challenges inhibiting the sector, the current global crisis is also a factor worth considering” he said.

He said one of the main challenges facing the automobile sector is the prevalence of substandard auto spare parts in the Nigeria markets, stressing that, although the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is doing its best, a great deal still need to be done to ensure strict compliance with standard.

“This is very important because the lives of citizens are at stake while huge investments in the sector goes down the drain due to criminal negligence occasioned by the predominance of fake and substandard products in the market” he stressed.

On the challenges of the current global meltdown and its impact on automobile standards, the corps commander of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Jonas Agwu said in a bid to ensure standards and safety,  the federal government placed a ban on importation of cars over 10 years of age, but due to the economic crunch, these vehicles still find their way on our roads.

“Consequently, we are not only compromising on standards but also on safety.  The National Road Traffic Regulations (part VII) stipulates the standards that must be met by motor vehicles or trailers on our highways.  Regrettably, these standards are not adhered to with its obvious consequence. hardly can you travel along any major highway without sighting broken down vehicles particularly trucks, this is a direct consequence of putting vehicles that are not road worthy on the road” he stated.

Furthermore, he said that courageous efforts of other regulatory agencies are also being stalled by these militating factors.  The RTSSS introduced by the FRSC as an intervention strategy is a case in point, adding that if all the principles and strategies encapsulated by the RTSSS can be followed and observed strictly by fleet operators And other stakeholders alike, then we would be imagining a paradise in the automobile industry in Nigeria, but alas! The economic meltdown is a major stumbling block.