Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Amid rising fatalities from road crashes involving trailers and petrol tankers, the Federal Government has inaugurated a special committee tasked with identifying and addressing the root causes of such accidents on critical sections of Nigeria’s highways.
This is as the country has witnessed deadly crashes from petrol tankers and trailers across the country, with the most recent reported two days ago in Anambra State which claimed over eight lives.
The initiative, announced by the Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali, during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, marks a decisive move by the Tinubu administration to confront what has become a recurring national tragedy.
Alkali said, “These road traffic accidents involving trailers and tankers have led to tragic loss of lives and property across the country. The committee’s primary aim is to review and develop recommendations to address the root causes of these accidents, implement safety measures, and strategize on ways to develop mandatory training and certification programmes for trailer and tanker drivers nationwide.”
He added that the work of the committee aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s development agenda, where safety and efficiency in transportation are central. “This is a matter of urgency,” the minister stressed. “I am giving the committee just one week to submit its report.”
The newly constituted committee includes representatives from key transport and safety stakeholders such as the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC; Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, NITT; Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC! Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria, RTEAN; National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW; Driving School Association of Nigeria, DSAN; Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, Female Drivers Association, FDA; and the Institute of Driving Inspectors of Nigeria, IDIN.q1
With Nigeria’s highways often plagued by poorly trained drivers, overloaded trucks, and deteriorating infrastructure, the ministry’s move is being hailed as a potentially game-changing intervention.
Transportation experts and safety advocates present at the meeting also called for the urgent rehabilitation of key roads and a more stringent licensing regime for heavy-duty vehicle operators.
