Key Points
- Shettima says Tinubu is committed to infrastructure that will ease transport operations.
- He describes connectivity as an economic necessity and transporters as key to national productivity.
- He urges the group to keep its 2027 campaign peaceful and issue-based.
Main Story
Vice President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu’s administration is prioritising transportation infrastructure to reduce the difficulties faced by transport workers and lower the cost of moving people and goods across Nigeria.
Shettima spoke on Monday in Abuja at the inauguration of the National Working Committee of the National Structure of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadeija, the vice president said the administration regarded connectivity as an economic necessity and was taking steps to improve movement across the country.
He said transport workers played a central role in connecting communities and supporting economic activity, noting that their work affected the movement of agricultural produce, manufactured goods, trade and people.
Shettima said the administration’s focus on highways, rail corridors, ports, clean mobility initiatives and logistics infrastructure was aimed at easing transportation and improving national productivity.
“President Tinubu does not take the struggles of transport workers for granted,” he said.
According to him, transport workers were also important ambassadors of the country because of their daily interaction with communities across Nigeria.
Shettima recalled that he had welcomed transport workers into what he described as a group of patriots when he received them on June 15, saying he believed they could help communities understand the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and participate responsibly in the democratic process.
He said the group had since expanded its structures across the country to include road transporters, railway workers, aviation stakeholders, maritime operators, inland waterways practitioners, logistics providers and workers involved in pipeline transportation.
Shettima commended the group for what he described as its national spread, but urged its members to conduct their political activities peacefully as they mobilise support for the administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He cautioned against violence, threats, intimidation, misinformation and electoral misconduct, saying political participation came with responsibilities.
The vice president said elections should not be treated as acts of war, but as opportunities for citizens and groups to express their interests and make their choices through credible elections.
Earlier, the National Coordinator of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, Segun Obayendo, commended the administration’s reforms and investments in the transportation sector.
Obayendo, who is also the President’s Technical Adviser on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, said the inauguration was important to building consensus among transport workers in support of Tinubu’s re-election.
He pledged the group’s continued efforts towards the success of the administration.
The Deputy National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Emeka Okafor, also commended the group and urged it to use its nationwide network to mobilise support for Tinubu and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
The Issues
Transportation infrastructure directly affects the movement of people, agricultural produce and manufactured goods, as well as access to markets and other economic activities.
For transport workers, the administration’s infrastructure programme is therefore tied to the cost and efficiency of daily operations. The government’s emphasis on connectivity also links transport infrastructure to wider economic productivity.
What’s Being Said
“President Tinubu does not take the struggles of transport workers for granted.”
Kashim Shettima, Vice President
“Keep your engagements peaceful and your message issue-based; reject violence, threats, intimidation, misinformation, and every form of electoral misconduct.”
Kashim Shettima, Vice President
“The transportation industry stands at the heart of economic boom.”
Kashim Shettima, Vice President
What’s Next
The National Structure of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027 is expected to continue its nationwide mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Shettima urged members to maintain peaceful, issue-based engagements as they take their campaign to communities across the country.
Bottom Line
Shettima says the Tinubu administration is using investment in roads, rail, ports and other logistics infrastructure to ease transportation and support economic activity. He also urged transporters supporting the administration to keep their 2027 political activities peaceful and issue-based.
