LOKOJA TANKER FIRE: ENFORCE SAFETY STANDARDS, PRESIDENT BUHARI TASKS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
Following the alarming frequency of truck accidents in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday tasked security officials to sit up and enforce safety standards.
Buhari disclosed this in a statement through his media aide Garba Shehu on Wednesday, September 24 following the death of 23 persons including school children who died in a petrol tanker fire accident in Lokoja.
The President said the death of these 23 persons, "represents another disturbing and saddening incident in the litany of tragedies" that have befallen the country.
Buhari, who condoled with the families of the victims, expressed worry about the "frequency of these unfortunate and large scale tragedies in the country which cause needless deaths."
He blamed the frequent accidents to indifference to safety standards, adding that the country has a tradition of moving on whenever tragedies occur "instead of taking preventive safety measures to forestall future calamities."
"These frequent incidents that result in loss of lives and property are a national scandal caused by our indifference to safety standards. Many accidents are preventable if proper proactive and precautionary measures are put in place or properly observed as routine policies," the President said.
READ MORE: TRUCK ACCIDENTS: FRSC BEGINS MASS INSPECTION OF DRIVER'S AND VEHICLE LICENCE
Buhari lamented saying "Nigeria is not having a shortage of laws and regulations, but our problem is lack of zeal to enforce those laws and regulations for the sake of public safety."
He, therefore, called on the county's transport authorities, traffic and road management agencies as well as law enforcement officials to sit up and enforce safety standards with more seriousness.
Nigerians, a nation of over 200 million people, brave through bad and poorly maintained roads to meet their daily needs.
Many have suggested that cargoes and petroleum products be transported through alternative means to avoid similar tragedies.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Lagos recently launched Operation show your Driver's Licence and Vehicle documents to curb the frequent case of truck accidents in the state.
The commission said it embarked on the operation to ensure that both the truck and its driver has valid documents and have been duly certified to ply the roads in the state.
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