Senate passes bill seeking establishment of Safety Investigation Bureau

Senate has passed the bill to provide for the establishment of Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), an investigative body to probe air, rail and road accidents in the country.

This was disclosed by the Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Engr. Akin Olateru, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The passage of the bill by Senate is coming barely a month after it was passed by House of Representatives.

Olateru said that the bill, when assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, will see to the transformation of Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N) into a multi modal safety investigation agency.

Speaking to the staff of AIB-N, Olateru said: “It is with great pleasure that I send you all hearty congratulations and announce that our new bill before the National Assembly has been passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives. We give all the glory to Almighty God. This is a bright new beginning for AIB.”

Olateru stated that the establishment of the NSIB was a good development, adding that it would provide adequate legal and institutional framework for the regulation and administration of safety transportation occurrences in Nigeria.

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“The NSIB would reinforce safety in all modes of transportation in Nigeria through distinctive, efficient and effective investigations of accidents and serious incidents involving any of the mode of transportation within Nigeria or anywhere else Nigeria’s interest is affected.

“The NSIB will determine the probable causes of accidents and serious incident occurrences in transportation and publish safety recommendations to operators, regulators and others, which would help prevent the recurring of similar occurrences, therefore, improving safety of transportation in Nigeria.”

Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), Engr. Charles Erhue, said: “This is a great feat to the AIB family and to the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) region. I wish to congratulate the Hon. Commissioner and entire AIB Management team with the support of every staff who has committed time and resources in one way or the other to make this a huge success.”

TheStar