The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’adu Abubakar III, has proposed the use of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) personnel as drivers of convoys of top government officials especially governors.

He said that if his suggestion was considered, it would ensure strict adherence to road safety rules.

At the sixth annual lecture of the FRSC, the Sultan said convoy drivers of government officials were the highest defaulters of road traffic and safety rules.

“There is the need for the FRSC to tighten its enforcement to include this class of drivers.”

He, however, pointed out that road accidents were not caused by high speed but by the carelessness of drivers which could arise as a result of many factors.

The lecture was set aside to look at the risk factors on Nigerian roads, challenges to road safety, assessment of work done and projections.

Giving a death toll of nearly 400,000 arising from road accidents in Nigeria since 1960, the Corps Marshall of the Commission, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, said the commission’s major challenge remained the poor usage of roads by drivers.

On the issues raised by the Sultan of Sokoto in his speech, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, said they were being addressed by a presidential directive.

Nigeria’s target is to reduce road accidents by 50 per cent in 2016 and to make Nigerian roads among the 20 safest roads globally by 2020.

Mr Lawal said the responsibility of making Nigerian roads safe must be shared across the tiers of government and the people. (Channels TV)

•Photo shows Sultan Sa’adu Abubakar III.