By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja
Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has warned stakeholders in the transport sector to operate within government stipulated regulations or be ready to face sanctions.
Amaechi gave the warning while delivering a keynote address at event of the strategic action plan, and inauguration of the Motor Dealers Association of Nigeria in Abuja, noting that the era when operators saw government plans as non-workable was over, as stiff penalties would henceforth be meted out to anyone found cutting corners.
He said government was currently understudying some of the policies put in place by the former administration with a view to fine-tuning them for the benefit of Nigerians, even as he congratulated the newly elected members of the Motor Dealers Association.
He gave the assurance that the Buhari administration would soon unveil strategic plans in some of the critical sectors of the nation’s economy.
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, National President of the Association, Engr. Ajibola Adedoyin, challenged the federal government to holistically review its automotive policy in order to avoid the envisaged and the perceived back lash that might lead to failure in the implementation.
He said the nation’s automotive policy needed to be properly designed before implementation, adding that the hasty move taken by the immediate past administration if implemented would throw billions of tax payers’ money down the drain.
He said: “We are not in disagreement with the automotive policy of the former administration, but what we are saying is, if what needed to be put in place is not done before implementation of such policy, our position is that the attendant consequence of such policy will better be imagined. We should look at the indices prevalent in other countries we are trying to copy when such policies are being introduced into the country.”