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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
In bid to reduce road crashes, National Coordinator of Greater Virtue for Traffic Watch and Development Initiative, Dr. Jonah Johnsonapla, has called on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, among others to expedite passage of the Traffic Warden Service (TWS) Nigeria Bill.
Johnsonapla, at a press conference, yesterday in Abuja, explained that if passed, it would complement the efforts of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) in managing inter-city road traffic and to generate revenue.
According to him, the struggle to make Nigeria strong, virile and an enviable socio-economy was beyond one agency, which needs the collective effort of the various sub-sectors.
He pointed out that the Traffic Warden Service Establishment had recently been demerged from Nigeria Police, following the repeal of Decree 21 of 21 of 1975, which was embedded in Section 59–60 of POLICE ACT CAP 359 LFN 1990 and reenacted Traffic Warden Service Act 2019 by the NASS.
He said: “The TWS is now on hand to fully take her place in the service of the nation and perform her statutory function as an independent Agency among security Agencies as established.
“TWS has the overall control management and administration of inter-city road traffic/Revenue generation and other related matters, as her primary function.
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“As part of her aims, objective and mandate, the TMC/NGO is to embark on nationwide recruitment of eligible persons into Traffic Control Support Corp in order to have in place a team that would lend necessary support to the Traffic Warden Service Establishment in the country.
“Unarguably, the general traffic situation of Nigeria’s intra-city road corridors, junctions particularly in Lagos, Rivers, Kano and Oyo States, the FCT and environ vis-a-vis other State Capital and urban town is worrisome and a matter of public concern.”
He, however, claimed that statutorily, the intra-city road traffic control was not the function of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) which primary function is to regulate overloading of vehicles in Motor Parks; over-speeding and constant patrol of the highways, to safe, secure lives and property of travellers.
He said, “The Traffic Warden Service would therefore love to inform all other Paramilitary Organisations to endeavour to maintain their respective mandate and terrain of duty for which each organisation was established, without unnecessary interfering and or/ encroaching into the intra-city road traffic control, management and administration within the metropolitan cities and urban towns.
“The TWS has the mandate to make charge of the intra city road traffic control as her primary functions.
The TWS, Nigeria was established by the repealed Decree 21 of 1975, re-enacted as TWS Act 2019 and declared autonomous by the Court of Appeal, Kaduna with core functions of direct/control intra-city road traffic; discourage wrong parking on intra-city road corridors, handle traffic management and administration, to generate revenue from the road traffic activities and create employment for youths.
“The TWS, Nigeria would create employment for over one million five hundred eligible youths from all over Nigeria who would be trained as members of Traffic Control Support Corps (to be converted to TWS) for various officer cadres as; Officers, Supervisors and juniors given qualifications for the positions.”
