Fashola advocates use of quality, standard materials in mounting road signage

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has advocated the use of quality and standard materials in erecting road signs across the country.

Fashola made the call in Abuja on Thursday at the closing ceremony of a four-day meeting of the National Council on Works.

The theme of the 2017 annual meeting was “Adequate Traffic Signage: An Essential Key for Highways Infrastructure, Safety and Comfort”.

“It will not be enough to just simply erect any type of sign in any place or indeed anyhow.

“They must be produced according to specifications and with enduring materials.

“They must be installed to a minimum standard that ensures their durability, endurance and utility for commuters,” he said.

The minister said that the erection of road signage was a sure way of facilitating mobility and implementing the local component of the global urban agenda for the benefit of Nigerians.

He urged the stakeholders to ensure that specifications and standards were followed in the production and mounting of signage.

Fashola said when installed, signage would assist road users in taking some important decisions and identifying their locations at any given time.

“Road signage is important because it indicates to road users how far their journey is, how far they have progressed and how much is left to travel.

“It also shows how far away they are from one village, city, local government or from critical services like hospitals, fuel stations and hotels,” he added.

According to him, helping commuters to navigate the journey is only half of the human benefit of signage and our mobility policy.

He said the other half was the direct economic benefits to those to be paid for producing and painting the signs, fabricating the steel and the labour to be employed in the installation.

Mr Tobi Okechukwu, the Chairman, the House Representatives Committee on Works, said the initiative to erect signage on Nigerian roads was a step in the right direction.

Okechukwu said the involvement of state governments would ensure the unification of signage across the country.

He pledged the commitment of members of the house to support the implementation of the policy through appropriate legislation.