Vice President Kashim Shettima has directed the implementation of a sweeping overhaul of the country’s road safety measures.
He gave the directive Friday during a meeting with the leadership of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) led by its Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He’s also set to inaugurate the National Road Safety Advisory Council saddled with the responsibility of reducing traffic accidents by half before 2030.
Speaking during the meeting with the FRSC leadership, Shettima stressed the need to address the increasing road accidents on the highways and in the cities caused by non-adherence to traffic regulations.
He said, “We need a comprehensive solution for our road safety challenges. The whole ecosystem is not as it should be.
Deliberate efforts should be made toward addressing our road challenges in line with international best practices in countries like Dubai and the UK.”
Shettima, 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.
“I was in Enugu yesterday 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,” he said.
In his remarks, the FRSC boss 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% between now and 2030,” he said.
According to him, the Council’s primary functions include setting national road safety targets, coordinating efforts between federal, state and local governments, and overseeing the implementation of strategic initiatives.
The Council’s membership includes six governors representing the six geo-political zones, various federal ministers, the National Security Adviser, and the president of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
