It was a day of stock taking by the shareholders, employees, customers, financiers, suppliers, partners and business associates of ABC Transport plc last weekend when the only publicly quoted company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange rolled out the drums in Owerri, the Imo State capital to celebrate its 25 years of transportation business.
On hand to take a nostalgic look at the company’s scorecard before an assemblage of guests drawn from the the government, business community, the academia and the private sector was no other person than Frank Nneji, managing director and chief executive of ABC Transport plc.
He described the journey of the transport company a s astory of innovation and a true testimony of what a group of people can achieve when they decide to improve on their way of doing things.
Nneji recalled that having commenced operations on February 13, 1993, ABC Transport operates from more than 35 locations and travels to over 100 locations daily within and outside Nigeria with not less than 500 vehicles in its fleet.
The ABC group has 3 subsidiaries and boasts of staff strength of more than 2000 while its business holding spans across passenger operations, consolidated cargo and haulage services, hospitality and tourism.
As part of its business diversification and using its technical and financial team, ABC Transport plc was able to revive the erstwhile moribund Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMMCO), Enugu, where it produces heavy duty trucks and buses through its Transit Support Services Company Limited subsidiary.
Apart from the corporate achievenments mentioned above, Frank Nneji disclosed that, ABC Transport plc have also impacted very positively on the community in many ways. Since 2006, the company have paid a total dividend of N836.15million to shareholders.
With a job creation profile of over 2000 employees out of which 1000 of them are from Imo State, ABC Transport plc have built classroom blocks in various local communities of Imo State, sponsored automobile departments of Trade College, Owerri and Ahaiara Technical School with donation of automobile engines and other resources.
Few years ago, the transport company donated luxury buses for technical teaching in mechanical engineering departments of Imo State Univeristy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, and Lagos State University.
According to the company CEO, a logistics training through its Driver Training Academy have been provided, with a strong work force of logistics personnel from Imo State, and have continued to provide over 50 industrial training placements yearly for students in universities and polytechnics over the years.
MIKE OCHONMA
