The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN has called for deeper collaboration among Nigeria’s transport sector stakeholders to strengthen safety standards across all modes of transportation.
Representing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu, Keyamo made this call during the Multimodal Transportation Stakeholders’ Workshop organised by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) in Abuja.
The minister lauded NSIB for convening the workshop with the theme “Strengthening Transport Safety Standards through Collaboration,” describing it as both timely and critical to Nigeria’s evolving transportation landscape.
He acknowledged the Bureau’s growing mandate as an independent investigative body now responsible for air, rail, marine and road transport incidents. Under the leadership of Capt. Alex Badeh Jnr., he said NSIB has embraced a preventive, non-punitive approach to safety, which is enshrined in the NSIB Act of 2022. This model, according to him, provides a strong framework for uncovering the causes of accidents and taking corrective steps to prevent recurrence.
Keyamo also commended the contributions of prominent transport experts such as Dennis Jones, Engr. Seyi Sijuwade and Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba (Rtd). He noted that their technical insights continue to play a crucial role in improving Nigeria’s transport safety infrastructure.
In his welcome remarks, the director-general of NSIB, Badeh Jnr., expressed appreciation to participants and emphasised that the gathering underscored a collective national commitment to safer transport systems. He said Nigeria’s increasingly interconnected transport modes demand not just cooperation, but a shared responsibility among stakeholders. According to him, the workshop offered a platform for meaningful dialogue, knowledge exchange and the continuous refinement of safety frameworks to protect lives and infrastructure.
Badeh outlined three major regulatory focus areas presented during the workshop: the draft Railway Accident Investigation Regulations aimed at instituting thorough and standardised procedures for railway mishaps; the Maritime Safety Investigation Regulations draft, designed to strengthen transparency and enforcement across Nigeria’s waterways; and the revised Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Regulations, which incorporate global standards, stakeholder feedback and technological advancements to enhance aviation safety.
The managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji also addressed the gathering. He reaffirmed NIWA’s strong commitment to ensuring safety and operational efficiency on Nigeria’s inland waterways. While acknowledging that transportation by its nature carries risk, he emphasised that safety must remain a collective national priority.
Since assuming office in November 2023, Oyebamiji said NIWA has taken major steps to improve water transport safety. These include the official gazetting of the Water Transportation Code, the deployment of more than 20 watercraft to key locations and the placement of over 600 Water Marshals at major boarding points. NIWA has also conducted sensitisation programs in more than 12 states and 70 communities, distributed over 6,000 lifejackets, and expanded public awareness through extensive media campaigns.
He commended NSIB’s efforts and stressed the importance of sustained partnership between federal agencies and state governments. States such as Bayelsa, Niger, Kwara, Sokoto and Lagos were highlighted for their support in deploying high-capacity ferries in collaboration with NIWA.
The workshop attracted top government officials, seasoned professionals in the transport sector, including the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed and other leading figures who echoed the call for cross-sectoral collaboration to ensure safer, more resilient transport systems in Nigeria.
