Infrastructure: Overloading is major cause of road failure, accidents in Nigeria ─Fashola

*Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Minister for Works and Housing, discloses any consumers who exceed the specified tonnage per ACSU load will pay fines ranging from N1million to N10million

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

As the Nigerian Government is making efforts at ensuring that road infrastructure remain in optimum shape for ease of mobility for all consumers, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Honourable Minister for Works and Housing, has said that heavy duty truck overload yet remains the major cause of road failure and avoidable accidents in the West African country.

ConsumerConnect reports the Minister disclosed this development Friday, August 27, 2021, during his tour of Federal Government’s assets in Lagos State, the adjudged commercial nerve centre of Nigeria.

Fashola also noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is intensifying efforts at ensuring that overloaded trucks no longer ply the highways in the country.

A measurement scale device installed on a computer will be put in place around the country to ensure that trucks and haulage vans do not convey excess goods, he stated.

The Minister said: “Once you exceed the specified ACSU load, the specified tonnage per ACSU load, then we have a problem in terms of law and order.

“These are the consequences: you will pay fines ranging from N1 million to N10 million. So, the reason we have done that is that we want to make it cheaper to comply and very expensive to break the law.”

He also submitted: “That way, we hope that people will choose to comply instead of paying excessive penalties.”