President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety in New York, United States.
The high-level meeting, holding at the United Nations General Assembly Headquarters, brings together Heads of State, ministers, policymakers and road safety experts from across the world to accelerate the implementation of commitments aimed at reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent before 2030.
Representing President Tinubu at the plenary session themed, “Scaling Up and Accelerating Implementation of Commitments to Halving Road Traffic Deaths and Injuries by 2030,” Corps Marshal Mohammed reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to making road safety a national priority.
He said the Federal Government was strengthening road safety governance through sustained political commitment, strategic investments, innovation, technology-driven enforcement and enhanced international cooperation, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, the government has continued to enhance the institutional capacity of the FRSC through strategic reforms, improved emergency response mechanisms, technology-based enforcement systems and expanded public enlightenment programmes designed to reduce fatalities on Nigerian roads.
Highlighting Nigeria’s growing role in continental road safety administration, Mohammed disclosed that the country had recently launched the Nigeria Road Assessment Programme (NigeriaRAP) in partnership with the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP).
The initiative, he said, would improve the safety of road infrastructure through the globally recognised Safe System Approach.
He also noted that Nigeria currently hosts the Secretariat of the African Association of Road Safety Lead Agencies (AARSLA), providing a strategic platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing and institutional strengthening among African countries.
The Corps Marshal further stated that Nigeria was aligning its transport sector with global sustainability goals through initiatives such as the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric Vehicles, while also developing safety standards for heavy goods vehicles and emerging transport technologies.
While acknowledging the progress made, Mohammed stressed the need for deeper international cooperation in areas including intelligent enforcement technologies, road infrastructure safety assessments, institutional capacity development and technology transfer.
He called on development partners to strengthen technical cooperation and support capacity-building programmes that would help countries accelerate progress towards global road safety targets.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment, the FRSC boss declared that road safety remained a national political priority under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He assured the international community that Nigeria would continue to work with global partners to build safer roads, save lives and contribute meaningfully to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations High-Level Meeting, convened by the President of the UN General Assembly in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), is expected to adopt a Progress Declaration to guide global efforts towards reducing road traffic deaths and serious injuries by 50 per cent before 2030.
The meeting will also review progress made since the adoption of the 2022 Political Declaration and the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2025.