Shettima Inaugurates Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, Announces 10,000 Electric Tricycles for August Launch

Vice President Kashim Shettima today formally inaugurated the “Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027” movement, a broad coalition of transport workers across road, rail, maritime, aviation, pipeline, and logistics sectors.

Speaking at the State House event, Shettima described the gathering as unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history. He urged the coalition to champion policy continuity and accelerate the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Shettima highlighted key achievements in the transport sector, noting that thousands of heavy-duty trucks have converted to compressed natural gas (CNG), resulting in over 60 percent reduction in fuel costs for operators. He acknowledged challenges in converting smaller vehicles but assured that the government is addressing standards, refuelling infrastructure, and technical issues.

The Vice President also announced that more than 10,000 electric tricycles; already cleared and currently being assembled, will be unveiled in August. The initiative aims to reduce operating costs and lower urban emissions.

On infrastructure, Shettima spotlighted ongoing railway projects, including the Kano-Maradi line, the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow-gauge corridor, and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail line. In the maritime sector, he cited the operational Lekki Deep Sea Port, the National Single Window project, and the dredging of inland waterways as steps toward making Nigerian ports globally competitive.

He set a target of increasing the transport sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product from about 3 percent to double digits, envisioning an integrated “unbroken logistics chain” from deep-sea ports through rail and CNG-powered road transport to final markets.

Prince Segun Obayendo, National Coordinator of the group, delivered a passionate address portraying transporters as Nigeria’s unsung heroes. “We are the bus driver navigating the gridlock of Lagos at 5am, so that the city can function by 8,” he said. “We are the long-haul trucker grinding the Lagos–Kano corridor through the night… We are the keke rider in Owerri, Benin and Katsina; the last-mile connector… We don’t want to be ungrateful. We will not let the train of this administration derail, neither will the boat be allowed to capsize.”

Obayendo noted the event marked the first time all transport modes had united behind a single political cause. He commended the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the elimination of fuel queues nationwide.

The inauguration drew leaders from major unions and associations, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN), Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle, Tricycle, Repairers and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NURW), Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), and and representatives of women in land transportation.

Alhaji (Dr.) Musa Maitakobi Muhammed, National President of RTEAN, commended the appointment of Prince Segun Obayendo as Technical Adviser on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation, describing it as the first time the sector has received such dedicated representation in government.

Comrade Francis Bunu Abi, President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and for ongoing maritime infrastructure developments.

In his closing remarks, Vice President Shettima declared: “The time for gathering is over; the time for mass mobilisation has begun… Let every union hall become a hub of registration, every transport manifest a roll call of support, and every journey an opportunity to carry this message of hope to the doorsteps of our fellow Nigerians.”

By Olusemire Jegede