The motion sponsor also called for the provision of fully equipped ambulances on every minor and major highways in the country.
The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to commence the training and deployment of first responders to all major highways in Nigeria, to help stabilise victims of road accidents before being transported to the nearest healthcare institutions for further care.
This is as it called for dedicated toll-free lines in cases of accidents on federal highways across the country.
The development follows the adoption of a motion sponsored by Rep. Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala (APC, Oyo), who explained that “a first responder is someone with specialized training and is also first to arrive at emergency scenes to provide assistance, pre-hospital care, or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency until those involved are handed over to authorities at the Hospitals.”
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Rep. Alao-Akala also noted that responders typically included “law enforcement officers (in the instant case, commonly known as Federal Road Safety, Nigeria Police Force), paramedics, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians.”
He informed that “in some jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, emergency department personnel, such as doctors and nurses, are also required to respond to disasters and critical situations, designating them first responders.”
The lawmaker, who further “noted that the primary responsibility of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is to make sure that Nigerian highways are safe for motorists and other road users, also recalled that Section 8(c) of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Act gives FERMA the responsibility of planning and managing the development and implementation of road policy coupled with the fact that innocent lives and dreams have been cut short on Nigeria highways, mostly as a result of the absence of or slow medical response to road accident victims.”
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Adopting the motion, the House urged that the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and other relevant Ministries be provided with fully equipped medical ambulances at every 15km point on every major highway, and every 35km point on all minor highways in the country.
