The federal government has assured that it will source for funds for the implementation of the drivers training projects across the country.
Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali disclosed this on Thursday when he met with the committee overseeing the project in Abuja.
Alkali who was represented by the director overseeing the office of the permanent secretary, 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, to generate money will be extra-budgetary.
“So you have to go around it and look for other ways to generate the funds. We are working round the clock to get funding and as soon as that is ready, we will go into the project fully,” he said.
The minister also pledged to ensure that adequate provisions are made for the training and certification of truck and articulated vehicle drivers to curtail the menace of truck drivers accidents.
“On the receipt of the complaint from the office of the national security advisor and 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 safe, efficient and affordable transportation for Nigerians.
“So if safe transportation is part of it, your mission here, driver’s training, has to be part of it. Because drivers have to be trained, have to know what they are doing and I am very happy that all relevant stakeholders are here.
The drug law is here. The road safety is here. President of Female Drivers Association is here and your humble servant is here, the trainer. So, I want to commend you for your commitment to this cause,” he said.
While speaking, representative of the chairman, Cynthia Ehindoro said the committee was ready for work as soon as adequate funding is provided.
“We appreciate your zeal for effective 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 the history of land transportation in Nigeria.
“However, as important as effective transport is, it is even more important to ensure the safety of the road users. We strongly believe you are interested in both effective road transportation and road safety which are complementary. As you have demonstrated your capability in securing funds to construct the Bus Terminals, we strongly believe you can also source funds to implement the driver’s re training project to significantly reduce and eventually eliminate the crashes which has hitherto led to the loss of many lives and valuable properties.
She added that,”over 80 per cent of these drivers did not know all they need to know for ensuring safe driving in all situations. Many of them do not have valid Driver’s License while some do not even have Driver’s License at all.
“This committee requested to have this meeting with you to reiterate the fact that the increasing rate of road crashes (accidents) involving the drivers of articulated vehicles has made the proposed retraining programmed both crucial and urgent, to save irreplaceable lives and properties on Nigeria roads.
“We also believe that the success of the re training and recertification of the drivers will provide further boost to the performance management scores (PMS) of the minister and the ministry.”
