President Bola Tinubu has directed 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, currently taking place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.
The high-level meeting brings together Heads of State, ministers, global policymakers and road safety experts to accelerate the implementation of commitments aimed at halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 under the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.
During the plenary session, themed “Scaling Up and Accelerating Implementation of Commitments to Halving Road Traffic Deaths and Injuries by 2030,” the Corps Marshal presented Nigeria’s national statement.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening road safety governance through sustained political commitment, strategic investment, innovation and stronger international partnerships in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration.
Shehu Mohammed highlighted Nigeria’s progress in advancing the global road safety agenda, noting that the government has strengthened the institutional capacity of the FRSC through strategic reforms, the deployment of technology-driven enforcement systems, improved emergency response mechanisms and enhanced public enlightenment programmes aimed at reducing fatalities on the nation’s roads.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s growing leadership in Africa, noting that the country recently launched the Nigeria Road Assessment Programme (NigeriaRAP) in collaboration with the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) to improve road infrastructure safety using the globally recognised Safe System Approach.
The Corps Marshal further underscored Nigeria’s role as host of the Secretariat of the African Association of Road Safety Lead Agencies (AARSLA), which provides a continental platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and institutional strengthening among African road safety agencies.
He informed delegates that Nigeria is aligning its transport sector with global sustainability goals through the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Electric Vehicles, while developing robust safety standards for heavy goods vehicles and emerging transport technologies.
While acknowledging the progress made, Shehu Mohammed said greater international co-operation remains essential in areas such as intelligent enforcement technologies, road infrastructure safety assessment, institutional capacity development and technology transfer.
He called on development partners and the international community to deepen technical co-operation and support capacity-building initiatives to accelerate the achievement of global road safety targets.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment, the Corps Marshal said road safety remains a national priority under the Tinubu administration and assured the international community that the country would continue to work with global partners to build safer roads, save more lives and contribute to the achievement 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 is also reviewing countries’ progress since the 2022 Political Declaration and the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2025.
