Skip to main content

Yuletide: NURTW warn travelers against patronising illegal parks

FILE PHOTO: Commuters at Jibowu Bus-Stop, Lagos waiting to board buses to their destinations. PHOTO: OLATUNJI OBASA

Mr Jibril Yemi, Secretary, Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, has warned travellers against boarding vehicles from illegal motor parks during the yuletide.

Yemi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the measure would protect passengers against criminals.

He said the union had evolved measures to check overloading and speeding by their members as well as its Road Accident Insurance Scheme (RAIS) in case of accidents.

According to him, the union has also put strategies in place to ensure a hitch-free movement of travellers, including enlightenment and training on safety.

“Our appeal to passengers is to board vehicles from NURTW designated motor parks because we have measures in place to check overloading, overspeeding and the insurance we are talking about.

“This RAIS is in consultation with FRSC because accident, as we all know, is something that is not planned for and RAIS provides manifest for the travelling public to fill in their next of kin in case of accident.

“Under RAIS, we have underwriters and HMOs who handle the treatment and payment of premium to accident victims and our drivers as well,’’ he said.

Yemi explained that because of RAIS, passengers were made to fill in their details in the manifest, adding that the premium was part of the cost of transportation.

He added that whenever there was an accident, FRSC officials were on ground to take the victims to the nearest hospital where they would be treated free of charge.

According to him, in a case of permanent disability, NURTW pays the sum of N150,000 through the insurance company as support to the victims and also empower them after.

“In the case of death, we pay N250,000 to the next of kin.

“RAIS has been in existence since 2010 and has been functioning since then and we have even sponsored programmes on NTA where we were presenting cheques to the victims,’’ he said.

However, the NURTW scribe urged FRSC to expand the enforcement of speed limit device to private cars, arguing that majority of road crashes involved SUVs which are private vehicles.

He also disclosed that the experience from the vehicles using the speed limit device was not too impressive, saying the passengers are yet to get used to the slow movement.

“We have subsequently objected to its introduction, not because the idea is not good but because of the cost of the device.

“There is no guarantee on it and that is why our people asked us to object which is why we pleaded for time for its enforcement which the FRSC granted us till February 2017.

“Don’t be surprised that when they tell you that speed limiter device costs N25,000 or N40,000, there are other costs attached to it like the speedometer, fuel cottage and so on.

“The cost is running into N70,000 and most of these vehicles are on hire purchase which our drivers struggle to pay roughly N170,000 monthly and the passengers are not flowing because of the recession,” he said.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...
Post a Comment
Read more