By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- THE Senate has shed more light on the purported proscription of preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle under the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, No. 22, 2007.
In a statement on Monday by Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central said, “pursuant to Section 10(4) of the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, 2007 and Regulation 220 of the National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR) 2012), preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle are offences. The offences have been part of the Act before the current amendment.
“Entrenched as Item 36 in the Second Schedule of the Act, preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle are not new provisions in our legal system. The provisions have been part of the Act as far back as 2007. However, it is now listed as Item 49, Second Schedule of the Act.
According to Bamidele, the Bill, therefore, does not outlaw preaching on the streets as some interests have claimed in different fora. It is about the safety of commuters and other road users and not intended to undermine any religious activity in the public space.
