Forex challenge stalls importation of 4,000 buses by RTEAN

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

The National President of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, Alhaji Musa Shehu Isiwele, says the importation of about 4,000 vehicles for  which the union entered into Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with foreign partners, has been suspended as a result of foreign exchange challenge.

Isiwele said RTEAN entered into MoU with three international partners to bring in the vehicles, but the MoU had to be put on hold as a result of the problems associated with sourcing for forex and the high price of dollar against the Naira which had shot up the price of the vehicles.

He explained that the harsh economic situation in the country was affecting every sector of the country, but noted that in spite the increase in the pump price of petroleum products, he advised his members not to increase transport fares for the sake of the common people.

He said, “The economic situation in the country affects  everybody and not only our sector. They (Federal Government) increased fuel pump price but we did not increase transport fares because we feel for our people. We are Nigerians and our customers are Nigerians.

“I have had several meetings with our members that we should not increase transport fare. We still carry passengers for the price we carried them before they increase fuel pump price.

“We have the challenge of sourcing for forex because we almost concluded arrangement of bringing vehicles into the country and we signed the MoU with some of our foreign partners but because of the high price of dollar against the Naira, we have to delay.

“We will find it difficult to pay back with interest at the current exchange rate. You know that a vehicle that was about N3.5 million before costs about N7million now. Our former arrangement was to pay back within four years.

“We signed an agreement for our partners to give us 4,000 vehicles and we even wanted to build estate for our members but for now we have put it on hold because of the high exchange rate.

“We were expecting to bring in 200 higher capacity buses, we put 100 in Lagos, we put 70 at Abuja and 30 in Edo, that was the arrangement and we planned to bring in 400 vehicles for taxi for our members. At the time we negotiated this, one dollar was N167,00, because of the delay,MaThe dollar exchange rate has gone up.

“I went to Sweden that is where I bought the biodata capturing machine. I went US and London. We signed about three MoU but they have been put on hold because even the 20 percent we were to pay, we don’t have it now.”

He commended the Federal Government for working on the bad roads in the country but he said, “That is why I call on the Federal Government to bring toll gate back. If genuine people are collecting the revenues from toll gate it can fix the roads and it can argue eat the income of the country.”

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