The Kaduna state government has vowed that it put rickety vehicles off its roads through enactment of laws by the House of Assembly.
The state governor, Sen. Uba Sani said this at the formal flag-off of the 2023 Ember Months Campaign by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kaduna Sector Command, on Monday in Kaduna.
The theme of the years’ campaign is “Speed thrills but Kills: Drive responsibly and avoid Overloading.”
Sani was represented by Hamza Ibrahim, the state Commissioner for Public Works and Infrastructure.
He said the state government recently inaugurated the State Road Safety Advisory Council in line with the Nigerian Road Safety Strategy II, to bring sanity on roads within the state.
The governor said that the state government had established five computerised vehicle testing centres as part of efforts in ensuring vehicles complied with all safety standards in the state.
Sani commended the previous government for doing “exceedingly well in infrastructural development in the state” through the Kaduna State Urban Renewal Project as a deliberate effort in improving the state’s road network.
He said the efforts were in conformity with global best practices and in line with second pillar of the UN Decade of Action Safe System approach of safer mobility.
The governor restated the state government’s commitment to enhancing the operations of FRSC in Kaduna.
The governor urged the people of Kaduna to always adhere to all safety standards and guidelines on road usage.
He also urged the people to take road safety as a personal responsibility and support FRSC in achieving the desired result of reducing road traffic crashes to the barest minimum.
Earlier, Mr Kabiru Nadabo, the Sector Commander, FRSC, Kaduna Sector Command, said ember months which began on September to run through December every year came with heavy vehicular movement across the country.
He said that as a proactive government agency, FRSC, over the years, had come up with ideas and initiatives to scale up the level of its preparedness on patrol and rescue activities.
He said it also held robust public enlightenment and engagement with its stakeholders as part of measures to arrest ugly trends on the road.
Nadabo said the programme formed part of the sustained preparations by the corps to step up efforts towards reducing the spate of road crashes commonly witnessed during the ember season through a formal flag off.
He said that the theme this year’s campaign was deliberately designed to draw the attention of all road users on the need to comply with traffic rules and regulations while driving in order to stay safe.
“The corps has recorded a comparative reduction in road traffic crashes in the 3rd quarter of 2023.
“This is monumentally huge and we will not relent in our efforts,” Nadabo said.
He thanked the Kaduna State Government for its sustained support to road safety through the provision of logistics for the corps’ activities and road rehabilitation for safer motoring environment within Kaduna and its environs.
He also commended the government for inaugurating the Road Safety Advisory Council (KASARC) to bolster the FRSC collective efforts towards effective road safety management and traffic administration in the state.
The Sector Commander said that FRSC and KASTLEA had developed an effective synergy and areas of mutual collaboration to train and retrain staff on patrol and rescue activities for general safety on Kaduna roads.
He urged road users to continue to obey traffic rules and regulations to complement the concerted efforts by the FRSC to cut down on road crashes during the yuletide and beyond.
The highpoint of the event was an award presented to the first female tanker driver in Nigeria, Hajiya Rabi Abubakar, popularly known as Rabi Dangote.
