The Federal Government, on Thursday, inaugurated 316 operational vehicles approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to boost its operation in ensuring Nigerian highways are made safe.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, who officially inaugurated the vehicles comprising 239 patrol cars, 49 ambulances, 23 tow trucks and 5 patrol bikes, said the operational vehicles would aid field corps operations improvement, which will give Nigerians a better motoring experience
He reiterated President Buhari’s commitment to the provision of transport infrastructure as a key determinant of performance in any nation’s development and growth process, noting that investments in transport infrastructure encourage transformative economic impact.
Mustapha said while the Federal Government’s efforts remain consistent, it is only proper for its agencies tasked with certain regulatory aspects of the infrastructure to live up to expectation and that it was in this respect that FRSC comes in for road traffic regulation.
“If the responsible regulators do not live up to their billing, then government’s efforts would have been in vain,” he said.
Acting Corps Marshal of FRSC, Dauda Ali Biu, in his remark, said in line with the contemporary trend in road safety and the giant strides taken to reposition the Corps for maximum productivity, the FRSC is deploying more operational vehicles as another attempt to enhance the overall patrol operations and to improve coverage and visibility on 204,000 Kilometers of roads nation-wide.
He said: “Dating back to the establishment of FRSC some 34 years ago, the Corps set for itself an ambitious target of self-transformation into a world-class organisation This vision was later given a push following a Country Capacity Review and Needs Assessment of the Corps conducted by the World Bank few years ago.
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“It is important at this juncture to state that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has continually showed commitment to the realisation of a safer motoring environment in the country by supporting the operations of the Corps on all fronts.
“Prior to the recent approval, the administration had supported the Corps with a total of 705 vehicles comprising of 595 Patrol vehicles 61 Ambulances 39 Patrol Bikes and 10 Tow Trucks to enhance both operational and administrative activities of the Corps.
“The recent approval for the procurement of additional 316 vehicles through the 2022 Intervention Fund, out of which we are inaugurating 111 speaks volume of the determination of the Present Government towards the eradication of crashes and fatalities on our roads
“The Corps hope to acquire more vehicles and expand our frontiers until full coverage of all our operational Commands is attained”.
He, however, appealed for improved funding to enable the Corps to realise its vision of full coverage of operational commands nationwide which includes 12 zonal commands, 37 sector commands, 223 unit commands, 58 outposts and 527 station offices.