BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
Worried by a fuel tanker explosion that claimed many lives in Jigawa state, a group, Accident Prevention and Rescue Initiative (APRI), has called on the federal and state governments to enact laws that would prevent movement of fuel tankers in the cities and areas where people live.
The group, which is a road traffic safety focused organisation, frowned at frequent incidents of fuel tanker explosions and road crashes, which have led to loss of many lives and property.
The executive director of the organisation, Ambassador Fidelis Nnadi, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, decried the increasing loss of lives and property through road crashes and fuel tanker disasters,. which he noted, are preventable and avoidable if proactive actions are deployed by respective government agencies mandated to carry out such functions.
Nnadi, who is a road traffic safety advocate, condemned the poor synergy in road traffic management in the country, which he said is the obvious reason many drivers fail to observe safety cautions, even when it is obvious that their trucks are failing in road worthiness regulation.
While lamenting the Jigawa state fuel tanker explosion, the executive director said the organisation is completely sad over the incident, just as he pray for the repose of their souls, while wishing the injured quick recovery.
He appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, to set up a committee to review the nations road traffic regulations with a view to finding lasting solutions in Nigeria’s road traffic disasters, to save lives of people on the road and those in their respective places of trade.
“It is unfortunate that the Fire Service which should be the first responder in such disaster are never available while other agencies don’t have the tools and equipment to function.
A nation without enforceable responsive Safety Regulations will continue to experience such disasters if nothing is done,” Nnadi concluded.