Nigeria to meet international standards, best practices in road infrastructure, says Fashola

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has played a critical and positive role in developing a common African position on road infrastructure since 2016 adding that some of these benefits would be best appreciated when the highways, roads and bridges are adorned with road signs, that will inform road users on how far their journey is.

He said the theme: “Adequate Traffic Signage – An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort,” of the Works’ Council, seeks to raise the level and quality of Nigerian transport infrastructure to globally acceptable standards.

The minister who stated this in a paper delivered at the 23rd Meeting of the National Council on Works held at the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, Conference Centre, Abuja, recently, noted that as human beings, mobility is inevitable because development, prosperity and sometimes survival of human beings as well as productivity, social and cultural interactions are tied to it.

Nigeria has helped to shape the Global Urban Agenda which was adopted in Quito, Ecuador, this year, to guide global development up till 2036, but the missing link is to start implementing its component parts for the benefits of Nigerians”, he said.

He stated further that having the road signs erected in ‘any place or anyhow’ is not enough, but must be in accordance with specifications and quality of materials, it must also be in tandem with minimum standards to ensure their durability to serve the people.

The former two time governor of Lagos state maintained that how far they have progressed, how much is left to travel and how far away they are from one village, city, local government, or from critical services like hospitals, fuel stations and hotels or motels should be contained it signage thereby easing the stress associated with long distance travels.

This is the best way to facilitate mobility and implement the local components of the Global Urban Agenda for the benefit of Nigerians.” He said.

He argued that aside the benefits of helping commuters to navigate the journey through the provision of road signs on Nigerian roads, provision of signage has direct economic benefits to the people who will benefit from contract jobs.

Fashola opined that the installation of signage will attract financial rewards as a result of producing the signs, fabricating the steel, printing the signs and the direct labour needed to erect or mount the signs.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, represented by the Executive Secretary, FCDA, Engr. U. G. Jibril, in his welcome address
described the theme of this year’s meeting as very important to the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, due to daily increase in the number of motorists plying our highways.

He noted that the outcome of the Council’s deliberations would provide the much needed inputs for policy making to address the problem of inadequate and improper signage on some of the highways.

While congratulating the Council, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Tobi Okechukwu noted that National Assembly is ready to partner and support the Executive arm of government on any initiative that is people oriented.