Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo (SAN) has warned that breakdowns in any one mode of transportation, whether air, land, rail or sea, can trigger widespread disruptions across the entire national transport system.
Speaking at the Multimodal Transportation Safety and Accident Investigation Workshop organized by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) in Abuja, Keyamo underscored the urgent need for interagency collaboration, data sharing and timely investigations into transport-related incidents.
“A failure in one transport sector can significantly affect the functioning of others,” Keyamo said. “For example, an incident at a seaport can block access roads, delay rail cargo and even disrupt air logistics. It’s a tightly connected web.”
Call for Intermodal Safety Reforms
The minister advocated for a more integrated safety oversight structure across the country’s transport ecosystem. He called on agencies such as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and others to share critical data including near misses, mechanical failures and environmental risk indicators.
Keyamo also proposed the creation of an interministerial task force to drive reforms, streamline safety standards and ensure a coordinated response to transport emergencies.
“We must break the silos. The safety of one sector now depends on the reliability of others,” he said.
New NSIB Timelines and Standards
The NSIB, under its expanded mandate, will now handle investigations across aviation, maritime, rail and road sectors. As part of its new framework, the bureau is expected to initiate investigations within seven days of an incident and publish final reports within 12 months. This aligns with global best practices such as those of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Director General of NSIB, Engr. Alex Badeh Jr., reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to these timelines, emphasizing that transparent and prompt reporting is crucial to preventing future accidents.
Why This Matters
Nigeria’s growing reliance on interconnected transport networks means that an accident or failure in one mode can have cascading consequences across multiple sectors. With increasing freight movement and multimodal logistics operations, ensuring synchronized safety protocols has become a national priority.
