Commander of the Zone 8 of the FRSC, comprising of Kogi Kwara and Ekiti states, Mr John Meheux, stated this while speaking in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday.
Meheux, who was in Ekiti State for the 2017 bi-annual RS8 zonal retreat, said the FRSC would remain on all roads to ensure safety of roads users on the roads, saying accidents didn’t know barriers or categorisations.
The FRSC chief said at the retreat with the theme: “Rebuilding the Corporate Image of the Corps,” said “there are crashes on state roads. Death crashes are not limited to highways. Are you saying FRSC should not be involved in rescue operation? We will continue to partner with state government wherever we can.
“There could be crashes on the state roads and we’ll come to assist. Our duty is not limited to patrol, rescue is an integral part of our duties.”
Meheux was reacting to a suggestion, recently, by the Lagos State government in which it expressed the desire to have the FRSC limit its operations to only the highways.
Meheux commended motorists in the zone for cooperating with the FRSC on the use of speed limit device
“The importance of speed limit device cannot be over emphasised. The compliance level in zone 8 is encouraging,” he added.
The Sector Commander, Ekiti State, Mr Ismaila Kugu, while also addressing newsmen raised the alarm over what he described as the high accident rate in Ekiti in the last four months.
Kugu said in 2016, Ekiti recorded a total of 49 road crashes, nine of which, he stated were fatal and had led to the death of 19.
The Ekiti Commander however lamented that “between January and April this year, accidents are high and we are concerned. We have recorded 16 crashes and 11 deaths in the first four months of this year alone.”
He charged motorists and other road users in the state and everywhere else to avoid speeding and observe caution on the road.