The Nation Newspaper

Category: Transportation

  • NB partners FRSC on ‘don’t drink and drive’

    The seventh edition of the Don’t Drink and Drive campaign by the Nigeria Breweries (NB) took off on a remarkable note last Friday. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    Thanking the FRSC for being a great partner in executing the past editions of the campaign, NB Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mr Nicolaas Vervelde said since its launch, the company has held 27 rallies in major cities across the country to sensitise and build the capacities of commercial and private vehicle drivers, motorcycle and tricycle riders and other road users on responsible consumprion of alcohol.

    Vervelde said the Don’t drink and drive campaign is about spreading the messages of responsible consumption of alcohol which the company would continue to communicate through strategic partnership with print and electronic media especially during this “Ember” period and beyond.

    He said as part of strengthening this year’s edition, public enlightenment campaigns would be held in four cities across Nigeria namely Port Harcourt, Lagos, Onitsha and Markurdi, while there would also be capacity building workshops for officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

    He said: “We anticipate that messages communicated through these avenues will further enhance awareness of roa safety and encourage positive changes on driver’s behaviour in relation to alcoholic consumption.

    The FRSC Corps Marshal Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, praised the strong partnership between the agency and the Nigeria Breweries, adding that the MoU would further strengthen the partnership.

    He said the don’t drink and drive campaign has endured over the years because of the corporate interst of the Nigeria Breweries in safeguarding people’s lives and property on the nation’s highways.

    He challenged road users to show restraint in drinking especially when driving. He said too much alcohol in the blood; “reduces the sense of judgement of the driver, increases among others, the risk of committing speed violation, wrongful overtaking and other dangerous acts that could compromise safety.”

    Oyeyemi who challenged other corporate organisations to copy the good steps of the brewery giant, said FRSC would be looking forward to more support from all corporate organisations to further spread the message of safety.

    Oyeyemi, who said his men would go all out to ensure the success of the “DDD” campaign said the Corps has taken delivery of alcolizers from the Ministry of Works and these would be deployed by his men nationwide to arrest any driver driving under the influence of alcohol.

    “We want to make sure that we deployed the evidence based alcolizers as well use our radars and we would ensure that those caught are promptly referred to our mobile courts for quick adjudication of their cases,” he said.

    He said the agency would go all out in the next few weeks in its bid to reduce road crashes and deaths in the “Ember months”.

    The highpoint of the event was the inauguration of the Nigeria Breweries Special Corps Marshal, led by the Managing Director, Vervelde.

    Vervelde said the 3,000 special corps are employees of the company who have volunteered to carry out patrol, coordinate traffic and other perform other road safety activities within and around Lagos.

  • Fed Govt awards N1.1b contract for two diesel trains

    Fed Govt awards N1.1b contract for two diesel trains

    • Delivery expected in next August

    The Federal Government has awarded a N1.1 billion contract for the design and manufacturing of two diesel locomotives for the Nigeria Railway Corporation.

    Dropping the hint after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, said the locomotives would have built-in power packs and would run on 1435 mm standard gauge.

    The DMUs to be delivered in the next 10 months, Umar explained, are to be used for mass transport services on the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge line, expected to be completed by the end  of the year.

    He gave the scope of work on the trains to include the design and manufacturing of two diesel locomotives with a capacity of 2,800 kilowatts for standard gauge tracks.

    The scope of the contract, he said, would also cover training of 30 personnel to test-run, operate, and maintain the trains as well as one year maintenance and technical support with two resident technicians.

    The minister said government would buy more locomotives in 2015, stressing that it would spare no effort at providing modern railway.

    Meanwhile, the rehabilitation of the seven workshops in all the seven NRC districts have started.

    The seven workshops where repair work is taking place, a highly placed source in the corporation said are; Ebute Metta, Lagos, Ibadan, Zaria, Bauchi, Enugu and Kafanchan.

    The workshops are being modernised to complement the entire Railway rehabilitation and modernisation currently going on in phases.

    NRC is currently partnering with some foreign firms to rehabilitate its Pattern, Foundry and Smithy workshop to reduce to the barest minimum, its dependence on foreign parts that have negative impact on rolling stock’s availability.

    Such parts among are brake blocks, brake hangers, brake block pin, hand brakes, check chains, draw bars, coil and leaf springs (Shock absorbers).

    Presently, the corporation is replacing old equipment with modern technology which has also increased the production capacity.

    The upgrade of the Ebute-Metta workshop includes the conversion of electricity to heat energy in foundry that would lead to improvements in castings and forgings.

    This is because the workshop handles the repair of most of the railway rolling stocks and other spare parts needs.

    The Ebute-Metta workshop handles sand casting, permanent casting, centrifugal casting and investment casting.

    Two years ago, the corporation imported and installed two overhead cranes in its Ebute-Metta locomotive workshop and one overhead crane at the Enugu locomotive workshop.

    The impact of these installations, it was learnt, has improved the corporation’s turnaround time for the maintenance of locomotives and rolling stocks.

    “All coaches and wagons are being repaired and overhauled at NRC major workshop with positive impact on locomotives, coaches, and wagons’ availability for inter-city, urban Mass Transit Train services and freight train services,” the source said.

    The source said when completed, the exercise would create an estimated 1,000 jobs.

    The overall aim of the Federal Government viz-a-viz the massive intervention in the railway is to grow the economy, improve mass transit of passengers and goods notably agricultural produce, job creation and eradication of poverty.

    Confirming the development, NRC’s spokesman Mr. David Ndakotsu, said the workshop rehabilitation is to further consolidate government’s investment in the sector and ensuring that its investments in the purchase of new rolling stocks are sustained by a modern workshop to service its needs.

  • ‘Officers ’ll be rewarded’

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged its officers and men to work harder and be diligent in the discharge of their duties to attain the Corp’s strategic goals.

    The Zonal Commanding Officer, Godwin Ogagaoghene, gave the charge at his Ojodu office, during the third quarter retreat for commanding officers and other senior officers of Zone RS2, Lagos.

    Ogagaoghene said “the retreat has become a tradition, courtesy of RSHQ instruction that every zone convene a retreat quarterly. It is a platform to dialogue on issues confronting them as a zone.”

    The retreat with the theme “Consultation, reward and punishment,”he said, is set to address the attainment of the Corps strategic goals.

    He said the zone has carved a niche for itself in the time past, with other commands looking up to it for leadership.

    “We must not fail in providing the required leadership to other commands, most especially at this critical time when the nation is contending with terrorism and the Ebola Haemohargic Virus scourge.

    “We must give direction for others to follow vis-a-vis the challenges we face in the discharge of our civic responsibilities.”

    Ogagaoghene, stressed further that Lagos-Ibadan expressway  is one of the major arteries through which goods and services from the Sea Port are conveyed to major cities in the country. Abuja, the nation’s capital would be strangulated of essential goods if the Lagos-Ibadan artery is blocked. Like they say, when Lagos sneezes, other states of the nation catch cold. The nation expects a lot from us. We must not therefore disappoint corps marshal, management of FRSC and the nation, who have entrusted this position of high responsibilities in our hands.”

    The FRSC boss appealed to the officers to always consult, to proffer solutions to myriad of problems that confront the zone and FRSC at large. “We must be proactive; we must look forward and ensure that our zone is not bedevilled by the unusual challenges that crippled other zones.”

  • Fashola urges drivers to be road-friendly

    Fashola urges drivers to be road-friendly

    As the horn-free day begins across Lagos State tomorrow, motorists have expressed mixed feelings over drivers readiness to comply.

    The initiative being promoted by the Ministry of Transportation they said, may be obeyed in breaches as a result of drivers’ level of awareness and maturity. Many of the commercial drivers are known for abusing the regulations guiding the use of the horn.

    But Governor Babatunde Fashola has called for road-friendly attitude among road users.

    Flagging off the initiative at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries’ hall, last Thursday, during the first Lagos Drivers’ Appreciation Day, Fashola said the No Horn Day was not a one-day event, but the beginning of a long journey to berth a new driving culture.

    At the ceremony where he recognised 25 drivers for setting good examples worthy of emulation, the governor charged drivers and other road users to contribute to the well-being of all, by keeping the noise level low.

    He said it was time Lagos joined the league of developed nations where motorists honk the horn when it is absolutely necessary.

    He said Lagos is taking a shot at promoting the culture ahead of other states because of his desire to promote the wellbeing of all Lagosians.

    “This is not a one-day thing. October 15 would be the beginning of a journey, the first major step in a long distance that would be undertaken by you and I. Whether we reduce or contribute to more noise around us is a choice we all must make beginning from October 15. The horn-free day is the clarion call for a noiseless society and this begins with you and me,” Fashola said.

    Government’s huge investment on the provision of road infrastructure such as road markings, traffic signal lights and road signs, the governor said, are meant to promote safety and make road users more comfortable.

    Speaking in a paper titled: Noise pollution is too serious to be ignored, Dr Kubie Enitan Layeni-Adeyemo said noise pollution have been found to lead to aggression, protest and stress, while it could also interfere with speech and hearingh impairment and poor performance at work or school. Other outcomes could also be fatigue, sleep disorder and ultimately hypertension.

    Mrs Layeni-Adeyemo who is Director of Occupational Health in the Ministry of Health therefore urged all to contribute to the reduction of noise pollution, adding that the campaign is one in which all must be involved.

    In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Transportation Mr Kayode Opeifa, said the day is meant to promote the avoidance of horn use by motorists, as well as sirens.

    One of the decorated drivers Mr Audu Momodu, 55, praised the state government for the honour bestowed on him.

    Momodu, a former accountant who now operates a cab service at Maryland, said he feels proud to be singled out.

    “I feel satisfied that I was recognised for a certificate of appreciation by the government, I shall go from here to preach what I’ve heard today to our people,” Momodu said.

  • Lawmaker hails govt on Ebola

    The Lagos State Government has been commended for swiftly containing the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) soon as it was brought into the state from Liberia.

    Member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade gave the commendation at an awareness campaign on the Ebola Virus Disease organized by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the Ikorodu Community.

    Speaking at the awareness campaign, Hon Agunbiade said the pro-activeness nature of the state government resulted in saving lives, saying but for the prompt arrest of the spread of the virus, the state progress in all spheres of human endeavours would have been greatly reversed.

    He urged the state government to document all the steps it took to arrest the dreaded virus as a case study for all communities that may be faced with such emergencies in the future so as to know how to tackle the challenge.

    While demonstrating hand washing as a way of keeping the virus at bay, Mrs. Omowunmi George, Deputy Director, Educator, Lagos State Ministry of Health explained regular washing of hands and keeping personal hygiene were the antidotes to contracting Ebola and other disease.

    She said there was the need for the people to be taught how to wash hands and maintain a clean and hygienic way of living.

    Project Manager of the BRT extension project, Mr. Chuan Liao commended the state government on steps taken to stem the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease, adding that the awareness campaign was contractor’s own way of educating members of the community where it is working on how to prevent them from contracting the virus.

  • Lagos Airport road becomes a nightmare

    Lagos Airport road becomes a nightmare

    The 3.83-kilometre long Lagos International Airport Road, leading in and out of the nation’s busiest gateway – the Murtala Muhammed International Airport -is fast becoming a nightmare for commuters, motorists and others.

    The road is fast sullying the image of the nation, especially for first-time visitors and tourists as they are welcomed into the cold embrace of a mindless gridlock that may keep motorists at the same spot for hours.

    Investigation showed that traffic jam occurs all day and  the gridlock is  caused by the bad state of the road and long queue of fuel-laden trailers parked indiscriminately on it.

    Car owners, commercial drivers and owners of business outlets along the road said the tankers packed along the road are their major headache.

    “These trailers are the major cause of the gridlock that has made both carriage of the road impassable in recent time,” Mr Taiwo Onifade, who lives at Mafoluku said.

    The Nation’s check on Thursday showed no fewer than 21 petrol tankers packed on the road leading to the international airport. These are outside those laden with Jet A-1 (aviation fuel), most of which were not making use of the parking lot allotted to them.

    A motorist, Mr. Wasiu Olusanya, said tankers blocked one of the lanes on the road, forcing all vehicles on the road to make use of one lane, ultimately forcing cars from NAHCO Aviance to drive against traffic causing the gridlock.

    He said: “In fact, the tankers here are the main cause of the traffic including vehicles coming from NAHCO, that make a U-turn opposite Ajao Estate entrance. We could spend three hours to leave the traffic that shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes. Airport road is supposed to be wide and about four lanes but we have only two lanes.”

    Mr. Festus who works with Mr. Biggs, said the traffic affects them as  vehicles have turned the filling station into carriageway.

    “At such times, vehicles that ought to branch to refill are prevented and this can last for hours.The traffic is a major hindrance. Government should widen the road and force these trailers out of the road. Vehicles driving against traffic facing NAHCO should be also be apprehended. “ he said.

    A commercial bus driver who simply identified himself as Sakariyau said the tankers should not be allowed to pack along the road. He said all commercial bus drivers plying the route use their parking lot to avoid the crisis on the road and urged tanker drivers to do same to reduce the stress of motorists and other road users on the road.

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, had in August 2013, relocated the tanker drivers to a permanent site within the airport after years of causing havoc on the highways at the airport, but many have refused to leave the road, insisting that the allocated space is inaccessible.

    The National Public Relations Officer (PRO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Comrade Atanda Adebayo, said the problem with the Airport road was that many trailers, with no business in that area  are usually found there.

    He said the union will be willing to cooperate with security operatives to sanitise the area to ensure that only aviation fuel-laden trailers are allowed to operate there.

    He, however, called for a more conducive space to be allotted to tankers, adding that the space allotted to trailers is marshy and unmotorable, a development that made many of them to avoid the place.

  • A one-stop shop for quick licence

    A prompt service delivery revolution may be going on at the Licensing office, Alaka, Surulere, a Lagos Mainland suburb. Drivers seeking to procure licence could obtain same within an hour. No hassles, no network failures, no delays.

    In a state where many motorists have loads of frustrating stories to tell, either of touts extorting innocent drivers, or the unsavoury delays that give room for endless extensions of the lifespan on the temporary licence and traffic officers’ harassment for failure to produce the licence on demand, the Surulere centre is a fresh experience.

    Many drivers allege that the website from where the forms must be downloaded and filled is difficult to access, giving officers at the licencing office the room to extort them.

    But The Nation’s visit to Alaka Office on Thursday was an eye opener, to a centre where the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) work in a seamless bond that ensures that a new prospector walks in without a form and walks out armed with a valid and genuine driving document within the hours without the attendant stress as obtained elsewhere.

    The centre, it was learnt, receives no less than 170 requests daily, since it opened in July.

    “None of these requests is carried over to the next day. All requests are treated with dispatch and the person goes home with his licence same day, whether new or old,” the head of the office Alhaji Ayodele Sikiru Aduloju said.

    Aduloju, a Route Superintendent Commander (RSC) with the FRSC, described the office as a one-stop shop for any matter relating to auto vehicle registration, change of ownership, number plate and licence.

    “We have the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) and the FRSC which is the sole issuing authority all working together here. We all work hand-in-hand and all the three must give a stamp of approval before any licence is issued.

    “We have been able to cope with the demand traffic because the workers go the extra mile to get things done. At times they assist people to fill and download the forms from the FRSC website just to ensure that everyone gets his/her licence before the close of work,” he said.

    Aduloju in a lecture, earlier, urged drivers to drive to stay alive. “A good driver must assume that he is the only sane person on the road and avoid other drivers from crashing into his car. A good driver is the one who gets to his destination safely, as accidents is not about who is right but who is left.”

    Though accidents, Aduloju continued, are a product of three factors namely environmental, mechanical and human, the human factors are primal and are within the driver’s control.  Remove the human factor and the other factors are insignificant.

    He said overloading, over speeding, drunk driving, fatigue, using the phone while driving and lack of concentration are few of the vices a good driver must guard against as they are causative agents of crashes on the highways. He added that though high speed trills, it must be jealously avoided by anyone who desires to stay alive.

    A driver, Matthew Olaosebikan, said he was surprised that he could get his licence within one hour of getting to the centre. “Infact, what I got here was a shocking surprise to me. I had gone to Alausa from where I was referred here by someone who said he had tried here. I came in here, they helped me download the form and I filled it and went to the bank to pay and within an hour my biometrics was captured and I was presented with my licence. This is wonderful,” he said.

    Another, a woman who identified herself as Mrs Ademola, said she came all the way from Iru, in Victoria Island when a friend told her of her experience. She said she is proud of the prompt service from the Surulere Licencing centre.

    However,  the centre may have  established a record of prompt service, she said government should encourage the workers by making the work environment more conducive. She said the lack of parking space is a major issue as many of those who may love to patronise the centre are afraid of coming because of getting their cars towed by traffic officers.

    She equally raised an eyebrow on the epileptic power supply which is not helped by the poor state of generating set being used by the centre. “It would be nice if the government replaces the generator the centre is using as this would accelerate the efficiency of the centre,” Mrs Ademola said.

    Besides the issuance of licences, other services offered by the office include the procurement of number plates for all manner of vehicles, registration of vehicles change of ownership, vehicle licences and hackney permit charges. Others are driver licences, registration of vehicle/spare parts dealership.

  • Transforming railway is Jonathan’s priority, says Tukur

    The transformation of the railway has been described as President Goodluck Jonathan’s top priority.

    The Nigeria Railway Corporation’s Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, disclosed this during a familiarisation tour of the Northern District of the Railway in Kaduna last  Wednesday.

    He said the NRC board is determined to rebuild the railway and make it the backbone of the nation’s public transit.

    He said:“In line with President Jonathan’s commitment, we have intensified efforts toward transforming the railway to give it a new and dynamic face. With the President’s determination, Nigerians should expect a new, vibrant and enviable railway very soon.”

    He said revitalising the railway would facilitate job creation, boost business activities and strengthen the bond of relationship among Nigerians.

    Tukur equally charged railway workers to be committed to their duties to complement the tireless efforts of the Federal Government toward rebuilding a new railway.

    Addressing their agitation for salary increase, the chairman promised that the board would review their salaries to boost their morale.

    Earlier, the District Manager (RDM), Mr Akinwale Akintola, said Kaduna junction was symbolic to NRC because it was the hub of the railway’s passengers and freight services.

    He said the NRC in collaboration with Kaduna State government was presently running “four single-direction daily intra-city train services,” under public private partnership arrangement.

    “The train cumulatively runs 24 train services per week and 96 trains per month, respectively,” he said.

    He said in view of the successful delivery of the existing intra-city services, the “diesel multiple unit” has been proposed to be launched as additional intra-city for a segmented service in the state.

  • Agency pledges more collaboration for road safety

    In furtherance of its zero tolerance for road crashes, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), has pledged to collaborate with other traffic agencies in ensuring that roads, within the state are policed. The agency said traffic offenders would also be promptly punished especially during this ‘Ember’ months.

    The pledge was made by the TRACE’s Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone II, Ado-Odo/Ota, Commander Kunle Ajibade while speaking with The Nation in his office.

    He said the state more popularly known as the ‘Gateway State’ records heavy casualities especially along its borders with neighbouring states, due to the massive influx of vehicles on the roads.

    According to him before the creation of TRACE, Ogun State records high fatality rate, which attract to it the name; “mortuary state.”

    Ajibade said the coming on board of TRACE as a traffic compliance agency, in collaboration with other security/road traffic agencies, has  reduced accidents as it has organised several campaigns and workshops for drivers.

    The agency, he said, will not relent in its effort  to make Ogun State roads accident-free.

    He advised road users to maintain road discipline and obey traffic rules and regulations while on the wheels, adding that life has no duplicate and that whoever arrives safely is a good driver.

    He warned against driving under the influence of alcohol,  overloading, high speed, phoning while driving, all of which are major causes of crashes on the road.

    Ajibade said TRACE will continue to impound any vehicle found violating traffic laws.

    He praised the Ogun State government for embarking on the construction and renovation of several roads which, according to him, have reduced the number of crashes in the state.

  • Rail, union agree on welfare demand

    THe proposed strike by workers of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to press demand for enhanced welfare package has been shelved.

    A statement from the NRC management said, the two in-house unions which had indicated their readiness to down tools agreed to shelve the idea and work with the management in the implementation of a new welfare package.

    The statement signed by the NRC’s spokesman, Mr David Ndakotsu, said the agreement was brokered with the leadership of the two unions-Nigeria Union of Railway Workers (NUR) and the Senior Staff Association (SSA) at a meeting with the management on September 5.

    “The NRC management and the unions commit to work together harmoniously in order to realise the objectives of the corporation and continue to provide adequate staff welfare,” the statement said.

    Ndakotsu added that both parties have also agreed to review the progress of the deal in two weeks.

    The NUR in a letter dated July 28 had served notice on the NRC management to proceed on strike following the failure of the management to accede to the demand for an enhanced pay cheque and improved welfare package.

    They had also demanded the recruitment of more hands to replace the aging and depleting workforce.

    The two unions had however at a joint meeting decided to shelve the action on the intervention of the NRC chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    A review of the new working relationship is slated for September 23.