By Sam Otuonye

The Federal Government has signed a Concession Agreement with the Asia Arab Investment Nigeria Limited (AAI), for the deployment of Smart National Transport Data Bank (S-NTDB), for real-time transport information and intelligence gathering.

The signing, on Monday, June15, 2026, in Abuja, between Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and Asia Arab Investment Nigeria Limited (AAI), aimed at transforming the country’s transportation sector through technology, data integration, and intelligence transport infrastructure.

The project is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), designed to modernise transport planning, management, safety, and security across Nigeria, on the basis of build, operate and transfer model.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Funsho Adebiyi, represented by the Director of Legal Services, Barr. Olusegun Omotola, said the project as a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to build a modern, data-driven, intelligent, and secure transportation system.

According to him, the project reflects the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to strengthening the transport sector’s contribution to national development.

“The Smart National Transport Data Bank Project represents our collective commitment to building a modern, data-driven, intelligent, and secure transportation system for Nigeria,” Omotola said.

He noted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the project following extensive technical, financial, and regulatory assessments, underscoring the government’s confidence in its transformative potential.

He said the project will establish a comprehensive digital transport intelligence platform capable of collecting, processing, analysing, and disseminating transport and mobility data nationwide.

The Chairman of the occasion Boboye Oyeyemi, former Federal Road Safety Corp Marshall, who also doubles as Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), commended the project, noting that it aligned with the recently approved National Land Transport Policy.

He said it addresses a longstanding challenge of inadequate real-time transport data that has hindered transport planning and development efforts for decades.

“For over 40 years, various transport projects have struggled with the challenge of reliable transport data.
This project directly addresses that gap by creating an integrated platform that will collect and harmonize data across all modes of transportation,” Oyeyemi stated.

In his remarks, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NITT, Dr. Bayero Salih Farah, traced the evolution of the project to the resolutions adopted during the 12th National Council on Transport held in Makurdi, Benue State, in 2012, which directed the establishment of a National Transport Data Bank.

Farah revealed that the initiative had undergone years of stakeholder consultations, technical validation exercises, proof-of-concept demonstrations, regulatory reviews, and due diligence assessments before securing approvals from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), presidential endorsement, and the Federal Executive Council approval.

He added: “The National Transportation Data Bank Project is not merely an ICT project. It is a national transport intelligence infrastructure designed to provide Nigeria with a single integrated, real-time source of transport and mobility data across the country.”

He explained that while the first phase focuses primarily on road transportation, subsequent phases would integrate rail, maritime, aviation, inland waterways, pipelines, and non-motorized transport systems into a unified national transport intelligence framework.

Also, the Chief Financial Officer and representative of Asia Arab Investment Nigeria Limited, Hisham Radwan emphasised that the initiative would shift transportation governance from a reactive approach to a proactive model driven by real-time intelligence and predictive planning.

The project will commence pilot implementation in Kaduna, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Enugu, Edo, Lagos, Nasarawa, and Borno, States.