By Ibironke Ariyo
Abuja – The Federal Government has cautioned road users to ensure they obeyed all road traffic regulations during the yuletide for collective safety and speedy national economic growth.
The Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, said this at the 2019 end of the year Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) high command strategy session on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mustapha who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Mr Olusegun Adekunle, said that well meaning Nigerians should contribute their quota in ensuring that the roads were safe in order to move the nation forward during the yuletide.
He commended the Corps’ efforts at upgrading its Academy at Udi, Enugu State, into a centre of excellence for Road Safety Management in Africa adding that the same plan gave rise to the planned establishment of FRSC Staff College.
“We believe that both will hopefully materialise in the year 2020. I am equally impressed with the establishment of the National Traffic Radio, 107.1 FM.
“The FM is aimed at sensitising the public to best road use culture as well as serve as a direct medium through which live traffic situation can be aired for the benefits of Nigerian monitoring public.
“This is already on test transmission and it will greatly add value to our nation through public education and enlightenment on safe road use.
“The aforementioned efforts of the corps give one of the ambiances to say FRSC is an exemplary institution of government that is delivering on statutory responsibilities and can do much more given better operation environment.
“As we all know, the last month of the year has remained the most challenging month for the Corps relative to the traditional high rate of travels by Nigerians for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“It is therefore not surprising that the Corps must dutifully sift its resources to evolve the best way to tackle road traffic challenges during this period,’’ he said.
Mustapha said that the FG recognised the fact that there was need to promote all road safety programmes adding that it required the collaborative efforts of Governments at all levels to achieve.
He assured the Corps that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would continue to support all noble aspirations of FRSC and its stakeholders.
He said that such support included funding and provisions of logistic for sustainable safety campaigns aimed at riding the nation’s highways of road traffic crashes.
He urged the board and management of FRSC not to relent in their decided strive to take the corps to the next level in service excellence.
“The personnel should be adequately motivated, their promotion should be as and when due, but of course to the deserving ones,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, said that the year presented its own challenges which greatly affected the Corps’ operations adding however, that management remained focused and continually evolved strategies to surmount the challenges.
Oyeyemi said that issues affecting the efficient administrative and operational strategies of the system to ensure efficiency in the service delivery especially as the yuletide was at the corner would be handled.
“Considering the dynamic traffic situations across the country due to increasing motorisation with increasing susceptibility to crashes, it is expected that this section will provide a veritable opportunity to objectively evaluate operational strategy developed early in the year.
“It will also evolve new strategies to tackle the challenging traffic situation that accompany the yuletide.
“We need to device innovative ways of thinking, bringing our respective environment into focus and deploying strategies that suit each location,’’ he said.
The Corps Marshal restated the management’s commitment to ensure the success of 2019 end of the year campaign.
“This campaign is important in the country and for FRSC to become a veritable instrument for executing successful socio-economic programmes of the FG through effective and efficient traffic management on all roads.’’ Oyeyemi said.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Campaign was Tagged “Road Safety Is a State of Mind; Road Traffic Crash is an Absence of Mind; Stay alert, Stay alive’’.
(NAN)
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