Anambra records 116 road crashes, 47 deaths, 335 injuries ― FRSC

Mr Sunday Ajayi, the FRSC Sector Commander, Anambra State, said the state has recorded 116 road traffic crashes, 47 deaths and 335 injuries in the state between January and August 2018.

Ajayi who disclosed the figures during his welcome address on Thursday in Awka, the Anambra state capital, said the 2018 Road safety week stakeholder forum seminar which was organised by corps is the fourth in the series noted that the event was carefully packaged to serve a genuine purpose of considering the prevailing road infractions in the  State.

In his keynote address, Mr Victor Nwokolo, Assistant Corps Marshal, Administration and Strategy Department, FRSC, Headquarters Abuja, said
if road crashes and deaths associated with such mishaps must reduce, everybody especially road users must share the responsibility of ensuring safety on the nation’s roads.”The world over, achieving road safety is a shared responsibility by everybody, not a task that rests on the shoulder of the road safety agency’’, he said. Nwokolo who spoke on the theme; “Improving Road Safety in Anambra State; The Role of Stakeholders’’, regretted that some people are happily indulging in negative attitudes which compounds the challenges of achieving road safety.

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The FRSC official encouraged State Governments to establish a State Traffic Management Agencies which according to him assist the FRSC in the enforcement of compliance to road safety rules. Nwokolo stressed the need for governments at all levels to do more in enhancing the road infrastructure across the nation, noting that poor state of roads compounds crash rates. He noted with concern that road crashes in the South East was still worrisome, adding that Enugu State topped the list followed by Anambra, Abia, Imo and Ebonyi State respectively.
ACM Keyinde Adeleye, the Zonal Commanding Officer, FRSC, RS5, Benin on his part, said the event held at the beginning of the ‘Ember Months’ was to remind road users on the need to be cautious while using the roads. He said that the `ember months’ was a mere conjecture by people which makes them believe that a lot of road crash occurs during the period, saying “if road users apply safety rules, accidents will reduce
during ember months.’’
Dr Daniel Ezeanwu, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Anambra who represented Governor Willie Obiano at the event said the
state was pleased with the operations of FRSC in the area. “The state government sees FRSC as one of its key partners in the task of security and safety management and would continue to support the corps in her mandate of ensuring reduction on road crashes and deaths in the state’’, he said.