By Angeline Mgbele, Correspondent Abuja

As Nigeria marks her 60th independence anniversary on October 1, 2020, the Corps Marshal of road safety management agency, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi has congratulated the country and all Nigerians and prayed for continuous prosperity, enjoining everyone to observe the holiday with sober reflections, saying that peaceful and safe celebration should be uppermost in the minds of all Nigerians.

According to the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal(ACM) Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Marshal stated this in his independence anniversary message in which he lauded the founding fathers of the nation for their vision, patriotism and commitment to building a virile, peaceful and prosperous nation that could serve the socio -economic and security needs of all citizens.

Oyeyemi particularly congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for successfully piloting the affairs of the nation to her 60th independence anniversary and assured all Nigerians that FRSC would remain committed to improved service delivery in matters of road safety management and traffic administration in the country.

Oyeyemi enjoined all Nigerians to always exhibit the spirits of patriotism and remain sensitive to the national demands for peace, security and development as being put in place by the Federal Government to address the challenges of nation building. He reiterated the determination of the FRSC to supporting the Federal Government and all relevant stakeholders to achieve the much desired success in nation building especially in the areas of constructing more durable roads, railway lines and other modes of transportation necessary for achieving the social and economic targets of the administration.

The Corps Marshal further expressed concerns over the noticeable increases in certain traffic infractions being committed by some drivers across the country, including but not limited to speeding, route violation, overloading and traffic light violation, saying the identified offences constituted the major factors responsible for the fatal crashes that had been recorded in the country. “Recently, we recorded increasing cases of fatal crashes involving tankers in parts of the country with enormous human and economic loses. And like every Nigerian, we in the FRSC are pained by the great loses from the infernos, and therefore, putting in place appropriate measures that could avert the menace in the future,” the Corps Marshal stated.

“Accordingly, we are stepping up our collaborations with relevant stakeholders in tanker and petroleum transportation sector across the country and creating more aggressive public awareness on issues of minimum safety standards among petroleum tank operators,” he added.

Kazeem disclosed that as part of the proactive measures being put in place by the FRSC towards ensuring peaceful and safe independence celebration, adequate numbers of personnel and logistics had been mobilised for a special patrol aimed at effectively managing human and vehicular traffic during the period. He, however, appealed to all Nigerians to support the campaign by promptly reporting cases of emergency either to the FRSC toll-free line: 122 or the studio of the National Traffic Radio through telephone lines: 08052998090 or 09067000015 respectively.