Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged transport operators mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid to conduct their political activities peacefully and responsibly.
Shettima made the call on Monday during the inauguration of the national working committee and nationwide structures of Transporters for Tinubu/Shettima 2027 (TFT 2027) at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Represented by the Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hadeija, the Vice President encouraged transporters to use their extensive networks across the country to promote national unity, combat misinformation and disinformation, and encourage responsible participation in the electoral process.
He urged the group to avoid threats, intimidation, electoral misconduct and other actions capable of undermining democracy.
“As you set out for this nationwide assignment, I appeal to each of you to remember that political participation places an obligation on those who organise others,” Shettima said.
He added that political objectives should be pursued through peaceful and issue-based engagement, stressing that elections should not be viewed as warfare.
“No political objective is improved by disorder, and no democratic process is strengthened by fear,” he said.
According to the Vice President, Nigeria’s future should be debated openly and ultimately determined by citizens through credible elections.
Shettima also commended the transporters for bringing together operators across road transportation, rail, aviation, maritime, inland motorcycle operations, logistics and pipeline transportation.
He described transportation as a critical component of the nation’s economy, noting that an efficient transport system enables farmers to move their produce, manufacturers to distribute goods, traders to transport their merchandise and students to access schools.
He said the Tinubu administration’s investments in highways, railways, ports, clean mobility and logistics infrastructure reflected the strategic importance of connectivity to economic development.
The Vice President further described transport operators as “parallel ambassadors of the nation,” urging them to prioritise passenger safety, comply with traffic regulations and support efforts to improve road safety.
He also encouraged operators to embrace emerging technologies transforming the transportation sector.
Transporters Target 20 Million Votes
Earlier at the event, the transporters announced a target of mobilising more than 20 million votes for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in the 2027 presidential election.
The Technical Adviser on Transportation, Logistics and Innovation in the Office of the Vice President, Dr Segun Obayendo, said the initiative was aimed at converting the numerical strength of transport operators into a coordinated political force.
Obayendo disclosed that the group was developing a digital membership database while establishing structures across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, the 774 local government areas and grassroots political units.
He said the decision followed the realisation that transport operators had been unable to fully utilise their collective political influence because they operated individually.
“We started putting our structures together and realised that politics without structure is labour without coordination,” he said.
According to him, transport operators had traditionally supported successive administrations but had not been able to maximise the benefits of their collective strength.
“But now we have come together. This is the game changer,” Obayendo added.
He said the group initially targeted about eight million votes but increased the figure to more than 20 million following the expansion of its nationwide structures.
“We are looking at over 20 million as the bottom line,” he declared.
Support for CNG Policy
Obayendo also expressed the group’s support for the administration’s transportation reforms, particularly the transition to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
He said the CNG initiative was opening new economic opportunities for transport operators while providing an alternative to petrol-powered vehicles.
Obayendo acknowledged the economic difficulties associated with the removal of fuel subsidy but argued that the previous subsidy regime had become increasingly difficult to sustain because of Nigeria’s growing population and limited resources.
“Our resources are not elastic,” he said.
He added that the emerging CNG value chain was already generating opportunities for Nigerians and expressed optimism that the planned deployment of additional CNG-powered buses would help reduce transportation challenges across the country.
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