By Kennedy Sheyin
The heads of Voice of Nigeria(VON) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) have reaffirmed their support for the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC)’s fight against overloading in Nigeria.
They pledged their support on Thursday at the Abuja Declaration 2026 event jointly hosted by the FRSC and Business Day Media.
The event had “Ending Overloading, Saving Lives: A National Commitment to Safer Roads and Responsible Transformation in Nigeria” as its theme.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Voice of Nigeria, Mr Jibrin Ndace, who was the guest speaker at the event, said that efficiently tackling overloading required synergy from all relevant stakeholders.
According to Ndace, the responsibility of road safety did not lie on the Federal Government or the FRSC alone, but on every citizen and road user.
He said that the media recognised this and pledged to do everything required from the media to ensure that overloading becomes a thing of the past.
“As communicators, we must recognise the power of public education in changing behaviour. A well-designed and consistently communicated message can save lives.
“This is an area where VON and FRSC can continue to play complementary roles in promoting responsible behaviour and communicating the importance of road safety to Nigerians and the international community.
“We must also educate Nigerians on how to respond when accidents occur and promote a culture where the first instinct is to save a life, call for help and protect victims from further harm,” said the CEO.
He commended the FRSC Corps Marshall, Mr Shehu Mohammed, for bringing key transportation stakeholders together to dialogue and find most effective methods of tackling overloading.
Similarly, the Managing Director of NAN, Ali M. Ali, emphasised the importance of the media in the dialogue toward road safety.
According to him, the media is crucial to successful implementation of all the strategies as it serves as vehicles for information from the officials to the road users.
He said that the importance of information dissemination could not be overemphasised, especially by an agency like NAN which is the nation’s flagship news agency.
“It is our responsibility to amplify the campaign efforts by the federal government and officials through the use of interviews, special features and by coverage.
“And we believe that by doing so, we can take the messages, the campaign against overloading and reckless driving, to every corner of the country, to the passengers and road users,” he said.
Ali commended the FRSC’s sustained efforts and urged the corps to relentlessly continue engaging state leaders, educating and training officers to maximise efficiency. (NAN)
Edited by Polycarp Auta