Senate passes bill seeking to establish multimodal accident investigation agency
Nigeria’s legislative body has passed a bill for the Act seeking to establish the nation’s Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), a multimodal accident investigation agency that spans all sectors of transportation in the country.
This comes about a month after the nation’s House of Representatives passed the same bill, TW has gathered.
It is believed that the bill, when assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, will see to the transformation of the current Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N) into a multi-modal safety Investigation agency adding Rail and Maritime to Aircraft Accident Investigation.
The Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of AIB-N, Engr. Akin Olateru, disclosed this in Abuja today 15th February 2022.
He 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 added that the establishment of the NSIB will put Nigeria at the top in Africa as regards transportation accident investigation with the country becoming the first to have such agency in the continent.
According to him, the Minister for Aviation, Senator Sirika, has been a strong influence in pushing for the passage of the bill, adding that the bill is a reward of the diligence and commitment of the staff of the agency who have been working tirelessly for the success of the exercise.
“I wish to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Honourable Minister of Aviation and you all, my wonderful dedicated AIB team. Thank you for your patience, hard work, perseverance, and dedication to this cause.
“Thank you for revising, reviewing, editing, and committing tirelessly to getting the bill prepared. Our efforts have been justly rewarded with success, and I appreciate each and every one of you,” said Olateru.
Since his assumption of office as the Bureau’s chief executive in 2017, Olateru initiated the process seeking for the enlargement of the Bureau’s operations into a multimodal agency.
And, with the strong backing and diligent pursuit of the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Sen Hadi Sirika, the initiative has finally got the approval of the Federal Executive Council, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Assembly.
Olateru stated that the establishment of the NSIB is a good development and will be of great benefit to all Nigerians as it would provide an adequate legal and institutional framework for the regulation and administration of safety transportation occurrences in Nigeria.
“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 modes of transportation within Nigeria or anywhere else Nigeria’s interest is affected,” he said.
He added, “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 the safety of transportation in Nigeria.”
The AIB-N, through its rigorous investigations, reports, and safety recommendations, has greatly improved the safety of air travel in the country, with the industry recording only one fatal occurrence since 2015.
Besides transforming AIB-N into a formidable and respected agency globally, this is one of the indelible marks Olateru will be leaving behind as the chief executive of the agency he took from relative obscurity to a key player in the global aviation industry.
Reacting to the news of the passage of the bill, 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.”
