The federal government has pledged to ensure adequate provisions for the training and certification of truck and articulated vehicle drivers to curtail the menace of truck driver accidents.
The government also assured that it will source funds to implement the driver training projects suggested by the national assembly earlier in the year.
Speaking at a meeting with the committee overseeing the project in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali, said, “On receiving the complaint from the office of the national security advisor and the same from the national assembly, the honourable minister was moved. He moved into action and said this committee must sit and be effective. He is mindful of his mandate to provide Nigerians with safe, efficient, affordable transportation.
“So if safe transportation is part of it, your mission here, driver’s training, has to be part of it. Because drivers must be trained and know what they are doing, I am thrilled that all relevant stakeholders are here.
The drug law is here, the road safety is here, the president of the Female Drivers Association is here, and your humble servant, the trainer, is here. So, I want to commend you for your commitment to this cause.”
Speaking on the project’s funding challenges, the minister, represented by the director overseeing the permanent secretary’s office, Musa Ibrahim, said, “We all know what budgetary issues are. If anything is not in the budget of a particular agency and it comes midway, generating money will be extra-budgetary. So you have to go around it and look for other ways to generate the funds. We are working around the clock to get funding, and as soon as that is ready, we will go into the project fully.”
While speaking, Cynthia Ehindoro, a chairman’s representative, said the committee was ready for work as soon as adequate funding was provided.
According to the committee chairman, “We appreciate your zeal for adequate land transportation in Nigeria, which was further affirmed by the recent approval of the National Transport Policy and your success in getting the Federal Executive Council’s approval of about N142 billion to construct modern bus terminals across the six geo-political zones. This is commendable and a remarkable landmark in Nigeria’s land transportation history.
“However, as important as effective transport is, it is even more critical to ensure the safety of the road users.
We strongly believe you are interested in adequate road transportation and safety, which are complementary. As you have demonstrated your capability in securing funds to construct the Bus Terminals, we firmly believe you can also source funds to implement the driver’s re-training project to significantly reduce and eventually eliminate the crashes which have hitherto led to the loss of many lives and valuable properties. Over 80 per cent of these drivers did not know everything they needed to ensure safe driving in all situations. Many do not have a valid Driver’s License, while some do not even have a Driver’s License.
“This committee requested this meeting with you to reiterate that the increasing rate of road crashes (accidents) involving the drivers of articulated vehicles has made the proposed retraining program both crucial and urgent, to save irreplaceable lives and properties on Nigerian roads.
“We also believe that the success of the retraining and recertification of the drivers will further boost the performance management scores (PMS) of the minister and the ministry.”
