The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), budgeted a whooping N1.2 billion for the purchase of operational vehicles and a paltry N500 million for accident investigation in 2024, LEADERSHIP can report.
NSIB, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Aviation is charged with the responsibility to investigate any transportation accident and serious incident occurring either in or over Nigeria or occurring to Nigerian registered aircraft, ship, train or vehicle elsewhere.
The fundamental objective of NSIB is to improve transportation safety by determining the circumstances and causes of transportation accidents and serious incidents, and providing safety recommendations intended to prevent recurrence of similar accidents.
However, according to the 2024 Appropriation act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, NSIB budgeted N120 million for infrastructure work at Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Abuja complex and another N290.5 million for furniture and office equipment.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, Capt Muhammed Gbadamosi, called for a review of the whole NSIB budget process, saying the fund is too meagre compared to the role of NSIB in accident investigation in Nigeria.
According to him, the ministry should also seek expert opinion before allocating budgets to some of his agencies, especially critical agencies like NSIB.
“I think the whole ministry of Aviation needs to get their acts together because when they proposed the budget, I don’t think they considered that the NSIB act has been expanded to cover the whole gamut of transportation in Nigeria including road, Marine Air, inland and coastal waterways among others.
“N500 million is too small and I think something should be done about it because as professionals, no one listens to us anymore. We do our bit and leave the rest. Before now, NSIB was solely responsible for the Ministry of Aviation, but now, they have expanded their scope, definitely, that amount cannot be enough.
“The last and present heads of the aviation ministry do not make use of stakeholders. In the past we did have workshops where experts put heads together to give solutions to certain aviation issues but now, the ministry singlehandedly takes decisions without input from professionals.
“To me, they have to review the whole thing and get opinions from those who know how it is done in other countries,” he stated.
