Olu Samuel, Lokoja
The Dangote Articulated Truck Driving School has graduated 50 trainees who have passed through a specially designed and rigorous educational curriculum.
A statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja by the management of Obajana cement plant stated that the articulated truck driving school at Obajana in Kogi State is Nigeria’s first and only accredited truck driving academy.
The school was commissioned last year by the former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Dr. Boboye Olayemi Oyeyemi, who described it as a significant step towards taming the menace of auto crashes involving articulated trucks in Nigeria.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Divisional Director Transport (DDT), Mr. Ajay Singh, said the new Batch C graduates have only qualified and graduated from classroom instructions, and will now be exposed to practicals through attachments for an additional six months.
Mr. Singh expressed assurances that the school will not only bring down the rate of crashes involving articulated vehicles but will also positively impact other road users.
The Director said the ultimate objective was to achieve zero accidents for all subsidiaries in the Dangote Group.
On his part, the Manager, of Dangote Articulated Truck Driving School, Dangote Cement Transport (DCT) Obajana, Mr. Daniel Marcus Akuso said the intensive training was carried out in collaboration with the FRSC and Fantique Driving Training Centre of South Africa.
According to the Manager of the school, the three months training programme has helped change the orientation of the trainee drivers.
“This is the only articulated truck driving school in Nigeria where the students are paid stipends, trained, tested, certified, licensed, and employed. Our products are not only for Dangote Cement but for all subsidiaries of the Dangote Group in Africa,” Mr. Akuso said.
Speaking, Deputy Road Commandant, (OC Instructor) of the FRSC attached to Dangote Driving School, Engr Mukhtar Umar said his agency plays a significant role in the training and certifying old drivers and newly recruited trainees.
“We teach them defensive driving, road signs, responsibilities of the driver, driving culture, and then certify them,” Engr Umar said.
The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) Professor Idris Bugaje had said that the NBTE was partnering the Dangote Cement Plc in the execution of the school’s programme.