The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Sunday restated the ministry’s commitment to host the 16th edition of the National Council on Transportation (NCT) before the end of 2018.
Amaechi gave this assurance at a news conference in Abuja.
The 15th edition of the NCT conference was held in August 2017 in Sokoto, with this year edition slated for Bayelsa.
The annual conference, is a policy making council, where all transport stakeholders come together to deliberate on policies that will move the sector forward and also monitor the implementation of previous policies.
Speaking on the delay of this year NCT, the minister said that the ministry awaits the response from the hosting state Bayelsa,
According to him, another state may be approached as a bailout to avoid last minute disappointment.
“The committee should also get a standby state this period as bailout, in case Bayelsa Government is not able to host us; I don’t want us to miss this conference because it’s a yearly thing.
“ If Bayelsa State does not have the money to host us, another state should be able to host us,” Amaechi said.
Earlier, The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Sabiu Zakari, said that a committee has been set up to commence preparations for the upcoming conference.
Zakari, who was represented by the Director of Finance of the Ministry, Mr John Edeigbe, said that letter had been sent to the Bayelsa state government, adding that the committee is waiting for response from the state.
“As soon as the response is received, the date will be confirmed and the event will commence.
“We hope to host the event this year and the committee is working hard toward achieving that aim,” he said.