By Suzan Edeh

Bauchi-The Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abubakar has  said that the country recorded 5,996 deaths while 32,063 were injured as a result of road traffic accidents in the year 2014. The Governor stated this yesterday during the opening ceremony of the Federal Road  Safety Corps 2015 Zonal workshop, entitled ” Marshalling resources for improved stakeholders consultation” at the Government house in bauchi.

He said that in bauchi state, 269 persons were killed while 32,063 persons sustained injuries during the year under review. Governor Abubakar said that from the month of January to September 2015, 123 persons were killed while 1,387 were injured in bauchi state. “Safety Digest reported that 2010, road traffic cost Nigeria about 30% of the nation’s gross domestic product which is about 17% of the current national reserve”

“Statistics  presented during the United Nation global ministerial conference held in Russia 2009, showed that 1.3 billion people died as a result of road crashes every year, not less than 80% of these crashes and deaths occur in the third world country” The Governor said

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to partner with the federal road safety commission in the state to reduce the rate of traffic road crashes to the barest minimum.

In his address at the occasion, the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi who was represented by Deputy Corp Marshal of the commission,  Ahmed Hassan said that the workshop was timely, which was aimed at addressing the menace of road accident in the country.

He stressed on the importance of stakeholders partnership in the fight against road crash, noting that road traffic activities are the duties of every citizens of the country.

Highlight of the occasion was the decoration of three government officials with  honorary special marshals. They include the Speaker of the Bauchi  State  House of Assembly, Hon Kawuwa Damina, the  Chief of Staff,  Government house,  Abdul Sule Katagum  and the Vice Chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Professor Saminu Ibrahim.