Abuja – The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Tuesday appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to embark on massive road construction nationwide, to reduce the carnage on the roads.
Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, the NURTW National Financial Secretary, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the union’s 8th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Agbede said there should be a renewed commitment on the part of the Federal Government to repair and construct roads, to protect the lives of its citizens.
“The primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property; so, one of the ways to achieve this is by making our roads safe for transportation.
“Massive construction of roads and repair of bad ones by this government is a good way to protect lives and property of Nigerians.
“If we think the only way to protect the lives and property of Nigerians is by empowering the military or concentrating on intelligence gathering alone, we may be making a mistake.
“Our appeal to the president is to reduce losses on roads by embarking on massive road construction nationwide.”
He said that protection of the masses who depend on road transportation was imperative, since rail transportation was almost non-existent.
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Agbede, who is also the Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of union, commended the efforts of the Federal Road Safety Commissions and other traffic managers for their commitment to reduce road accidents.
He urged the government to fashion out measures that would also reduce the difficulties in obtaining and renewing driver’s licence in the country.
According to him, centres for processing the driver’s licence should not be distant from one another, to reduce the stress currently being experienced.
NAN reports that union delegates across the 36 states are attending the conference during which new national executives would be elected to manage the affairs of the union for the next for years.
Representatives of some state governors, some traditional rulers and prominent heads of traffic agencies attended the one day conference. (NAN)