Vice-President Kashim Shettima has directed the implementation of a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s road safety measures to reduce accidents in the country.
He is also set to inaugurate the National Road Safety Advisory Council saddled with the responsibility of reducing traffic accidents by 50 per cent before 2030.
Shettima, during a meeting with the leadership of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday, stressed the need for the corps to address increasing road accidents on the highways.
The Vice-President directed the implementation of a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s road safety measures.
He also stressed the need for the corps to address its challenges and drastically reduce road traffic accidents across the nation caused by non-adherence to traffic regulations.
“We need a comprehensive solution for our road safety challenges. The whole ecosystem is not as it should be,” Shettima stated.
He also emphasised the need for deliberate efforts to address road challenges in line with international best practices in countries like Dubai and the UK.
The Vice President, who chairs the National Road Safety Advisory Council, highlighted the importance of leveraging technology and enforcing discipline to improve road safety.
“In places like Dubai and the UK, they have a mechanism of checking road traffic violators, capture their car number plates and are charged directly from their bank account.
”This way, people are encouraged to obey the law. We need to be a disciplined nation,” he said.
The Vice-President emphasised the interconnected nature of road safety with broader security concerns.
“The FRSC’s job is intertwined with that of the Nigerian Police as it is part of the security architecture of the nation.
“I was in Enugu on Thursday and the state government is doing so well. The governor has put in place a security architecture where the whole town and the whole state are under surveillance including the forest areas.”
Earlier, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, said the National Road Safety Advisory Council was a critical aspect of the updated Nigeria Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.
“The idea is to reduce road traffic crashes by 50 per cent between now and 2030,” he said.
He outlined the council’s primary functions to include setting national road safety targets, coordinating efforts between federal, state and local governments, and overseeing the implementation of strategic initiatives.
The membership of the council comprised six governors representing the six geo-political zones, ministers, the National Security Adviser, and the President of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).