Aregbesola Wants Violators of Safety Standards Punished

Fri, Jul 3, 2015

By publisher

5 MIN READ

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Governor Abdulrauf Aregbesola of Ogun State says his government will support the Federal Road Safety Corps in its campaign to ensure safety and prevent accidents on Nigerian roads while advocating for stiff punishment for violators of safety standards

ABDULRAUF Aregbesola, governor of Osun state, is committed to partnering with the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in the task of creating safer road environment. He is also advocating stiffer punishment to be meted out to those who violate road safety standards if the campaign against road carnage is to succeed in the country. The governor made this known when he hosted Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal of the FRSC, at the Government House Osogbo.

Grace Titilayo Tomore, deputy governor, who stood in for the governor, commended the leadership of the FRSC for the commitment it has shown towards creating safer road environment in the country, stating that the state government is in full support of the moves being made to restore sanity on the roads. According to her, collaboration between the FRSC and Osun state government on issues of road safety is germane because protection of lives and property of the people of the state was the central campaign promise made by Governor Aregbesola during his electioneering campaigns. She added that since his assumption of office, he has not reneged on that. “That was what informed the massive investment the state government has continued to make in road construction, security and ambulance services,” she stated.

According to her, “The state government under the administration of Governor Aregbesola has remained committed to issues of road safety, security and social development. Everyone knows that the Governor’s convoy adheres strictly to road traffic lights whenever he is moving around in the town. He has also directed members of his executive council to do the same. I assure you that FRSC will find a veritable partner in Osun state government in the campaign for the safety of lives and property on the roads,” she said.

On the frequent cases of tanker crashes in the country, Tomore expressed concern at the development, calling on the FRSC to take adequate measures against those who violate safety standards. She advocated due process in the issuance of driver’s licenses and registration of the drivers, stressing that doing so could make their identification easy.

The deputy governor also pointed out that even though no tanker crash has occurred in the state, the government took adequate measures to ensure that all vehicles operating in the state met the required safety standards. While commending the FRSC for its contributions to the socio-economic development of the state, she stated that the commitment being shown by the personnel of the FRSC to effective traffic management, safety of lives and property and general development of the state was quite impressive.

Tomore assured the Corps Marshal that the state government will continue to explore areas of mutual benefits between it and the FRSC, vowing to sustain actions that could make the state crash-free.

Corps Marshal Oyeyemi, in his remarks thanked the Osun state government for its sustained support to the FRSC and enumerated areas where it has supported the Corps in the past, disclosing that it was the first in the country to donate a heavy duty tow truck to the FRSC, which assisted greatly in creating obstruction-free road.

Oyeyemi commended Governor Aregbesola for putting in place various measures targeted at achieving safer road environment in the state, pointing out that the enactment of the law on the operations of tanker operations in the state is a commendable initiative, saying that if other states could embrace the same consciousness, the campaign against road carnage would be a huge success.

Her speech made the Corps Marshal to call on other state government to adopt the same measure in the campaigns to keep the nation’s roads safer. While giving a situation report on the last tanker crashes in the country, Oyeyemi stated that he has been in touch with the leadership of the tanker drivers’ union and other transport unions before the last national summit on haulage operations was organised in Abuja. He also stated that the report of the summit with the plan of action drawn up by the stakeholders has been sent to all the state governors across the country, stressing the need for training and retraining of the tanker drivers as part of the major resolutions of the summit.

“Installation of speed limiters in tankers would be one of the conditions to allow any driver load the petroleum products as from September 1, 2015, while the use of retro-reflective tapes on the tankers would be aggressively enforced to ensure proper illumination of the vehicles. He also emphasised the need for the state governments to build the capacity of the Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO, for them to carry out their functions more diligently. “We are working with PTD-NUPENG to check consumption of alcohol at the parks while we are working on the possibility of government establishing rest areas across the country,” he stated.

The Corps Marshal also said that part of the measures being taken by the FRSC towards sanitising the operations of tankers and trailers in the country is the decision to prosecute those responsible for causing the Onitsha and Lagos tanker crashes, stressing that with all the measures being put in place by the FRSC in partnership with the relevant stakeholders towards ensuring safety on the nation’s highways, sanity would soon be restored.

The Corps Marshal was accompanied on the visit by some principal officers of the FRSC, including the Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 11, Osogbo, Assistant Corps Marshal Luka Kinya.

— Jul 13, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT

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