The Federal Government of Nigeria has promised to treat the issue of road safety on the nation’s highway as a matter of priority.
The Permanent Secretary in the office of the Secretary to the Government, Dr. Ray Ugo, on Tuesday, made the pledge at a meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital city.
Dr. Ugo announced that the government planed to increase funding of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to ensure that the spate of accidents on the nation’s highway would reduce.
According to the FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, recent statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that road traffic injuries remained a major public health problem and a leading cause of death, injury and disability around the world.
“Road crashes causes not only economic loss to a nation, but also has developmental consequences,” he stressed.
The Country Representative of the World Health Organization, Rui Vaz, however, proffered solution on what should be done to reduce road accidents, stressing the need for implementation of policies.
Officials at the event were hopeful that more funding and rehabilitation of existing roads were steps in the right direction.
