The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), will next week in Abuja begin radio broadcasting to enlighten Nigerians on road safety tips, ahead of the impending festive season.
Corps Marshal, Oyeyemi Boboye, stated this in Abuja on Monday during the House of Representatives public hearing on a “Bill for an Act to amend the Federal Road Safety Commission Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
According to him, the pilot radio broadcasting, which will kick off in Abuja in five languages namely, English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, aims at advocacy to eradicate road crashes among Nigerian road users.
“The Federal Road Safety Corps will begin radio broadcasting in Abuja next week in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. We are involved in advocacy, education and enlightenment of Nigerians. We want to achieve our mission, which is a nation where road crashes will not result in fatalities,” Boboye told the lawmakers.
He said the Corps would henceforth impose stiffer sanctions, including a minimum fine of N50,000 on road traffick offenders, to serve as deterrent to road users who were often caught violating the same rule on which they had previously being fined.
On his part, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Anthonia Akpabio, said he was committed to making useful inputs into the improvement of road safety and management in Nigeria.
Earlier in an address, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had stressed the need for improved road safety in Nigeria, as a necessary step towards eradicating road crashes and saving lives.
Chairman, House Committee on Federal Road Safety Commission, Abubakar Yinusa (APC, Yobe) expressed hope that an amended FRSC Act, would guarantee a more effective and efficient Corps in line with current realities.