The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) will soon be responsible for investigating accidents not only in the Nigerian aviation sector, but also in the rail and maritime sectors as well, following approval by the President. This comes with the recent passing of a bill by the Senate which establishes the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), only a month after the same bill was passed in the House of Representatives.
The news was recently announced by the Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru in Abuja as he heartily congratulated his staff for all their efforts and thanked God for ushering in a new era for the Bureau:
“It is with great pleasure that I send you all hearty congratulations and announce that our New Bill before the National Assembly has been passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives. We give all the glory to Almighty God. This is a brand new beginning for AIB. Thank you for revisiting, reviewing, editing and committing tirelessly to getting the bill prepared. Our efforts have been justly rewarded with success, and I appreciate each and every one of you”, he said.
The AIB chief went on to thank the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika for his role in the accomplishment of this feat, starting from when the Federal Executive Council gave its approval of the bill to its passing in the National Assembly.
According to Olateru, the creation of NSIB will ensure safety for Nigerians to a much greater extent, as “NSIB will reinforce safety in all modes of transportation in Nigeria through distinctive, efficient and effective investigations of accidents and serious incidents involving any of the modes of transportation within Nigeria or anywhere else of Nigeria’s interest.”
A statement by AIB notes that transforming the Bureau into a multimodal agency was among the main objectives of Engr. Olateru from his appointment as AIB Commissioner/CEO in 2017; and that attaining this objective will be a lasting legacy for the CEO, who has worked tirelessly to improve the safety of the aviation sector which has grown to the point where only one fatal occurrence has been recorded therein over the last seven years.
The Commissioner of Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), Engr. Charles Erhue, expressed pleasure at the news, calling it a “great feat” for both the AIB and the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) region as he congratulated the Bureau for its commitment and resourcefulness – attributes that have made possible this historic achievement.
