WHEN passed, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Bill will enhance investigations into the causal effects of accidents of various modes of transportation including rail and maritime in a bid to provide recommendations the nation can learn from.
Creating a multimodal transport accident investigation agency separate from regulators and service providers in the Commissioner Of the Accident Investigation Bureau ( AIB) Engineer Akin Olateru says will provide technically accurate, appropriate and timely information that the transport mode can implement to prevent accidents.
Olateru in a presentation to the Senate Committee on Aviation at the just concluded public hearing said the world over, multimodal has become the future of transportation accident investigation.
According to him, like air accidents, other models will be thoroughly investigated without the intention of apportioning blame.
Olateru said,” Multimodal is widely accepted as the future of Transport Accident Investigation and the transition has always been made from the extant air accident investigating agency.
“It has become expedient that the provision of Section 29 of the Civil Aviation Act (CAA)be reviewed to establish the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau ( NSIB) in a separate act to bring it up to speed with contemporary global best practices, to create a multimodal bureau of investigation for air, rail and maritime accidents.
“The purpose of the NSIB is to enable the is not intended for apportioning blame, but to provide technically accurate, appropriate and timely information which can be used to implement measures to prevent re occurrences and potentially mitigate the damages caused by such accidents.”
Chairman Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi and a colleague agreed that it was a laudable plan but raised questions bothering around coordination with other modes of transports for the bill as well as Labour issues which are likely to arise.
Senator Adeyemi also advised the Accident investigation Bureau helmsman, Olateru to liaise with his permanent Secretary and Minister so they can coordinate with other transportation mode ministers and agencies so the bill is not misinterpreted.
Reacting, Engineer Olateru said that he has contacted his colleagues in the other transport sub sectors and assured that they were onboard with the plan however said he will resign to the senate’s wisdom and follow their directions.
On job loss or usurpation, Olateru assured that there will be none as the NSIB will either second the investigators or absorb them since they would need the expertise to function in the NSIB investigation laboratory which is equipped with the intent to carry out investigation in their terrain.
