Institute
By Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni
Abuja, Dec. 20, 2018 (NAN) The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, has pledged to make adequate budget available to Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) to facilitate speedy completion of projects.
Jibrin, during oversight visit of the House Committee to the NITT Zonal Outreach Learning Centre, Abuja, said the major project being undertaken by the transport institute was the construction of study centres.
He said that the opening of NITT learning centres across the six geo-political Zones would fast-track growth of the Transportation sector and the emergence of professionals.
“Transport is at the heart of logistics; you cannot talk about the economy without transport; it is the foundation of every aspect of the economy.
“Again, we have limited knowledge because, essentially, we just look at it like commerce.
“We need deeper knowledge of the technologies; the modules, the operations, the technical aspects and lots of other issues that are related.
“I believe that with these centres, we will be able to produce more professionals and competent people that will contribute to the transport sector of the economy,’’ Jibrin said.
Commending the progress of work on the building of the NITT learning centre, Jibrin pledged the support of the House of Representatives to the project which, he said, would be of immense benefit to the nation.
He said that the committee would visit all centres to see the progress of work.
“We are in the budget season and we can give them a push so that they can complete the whole of this project and we can get the school running,’’ Jibrin said.
Also speaking, Dr Abimbola Odumosu, Director General, NITT said that the visit of the Committee members showed the commitment of the legislators to the development of the transport sector.
Odumosu said that the NITT had made significant contributions to address the problems confronting the transport sector by providing the required training and professional manpower to run the industry
He explained that the Main Campus of the Institute was in Zaria, Kaduna State with outreach learning centres across the six geo-political zones, to enable every Nigerian to have access to learning.
“We are a training institution and our main focus is training on knowledge, skill and competence in transportation and logistics.
“When government found out that there was a gap in the expertise in transportation and logistics, it necessitated the establishment of the NITT as a Research Institute; we still do sustainable research.
“The last one we did under the Federal Ministry of Transportation was on `National Transport Survey Projections’.
“We have another sustainable research we are doing now; `how to use railway and logistics as a tool for poverty reduction and employment generation’.
“The report which is being prepared by the Federal Ministry of transportation is going to be ready by January,’’ he said.
Odumosu said that the institution was affiliated to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria which gives certification to its grandaunts.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NITT outreach centre in Abuja, which is already at 82 per cent completion stage, is expected to be completed and opened for full operation in 2019. (NAN)
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Edited by Hajia Sani