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Drive Safely, Stay Safe into 2021, Oyeyemi Urges Nigerians
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has urged Nigerians to drive safely and stay safe as they enter into the new year, saying all bad driving habits should be discarded while the good lessons learnt and practiced during the outgoing year should be sustained with commitment to ensuring personal safety and health of the individuals. This was contained in the new year message to Nigerians by the Corps Marshal of FRSC as part of the ongoing sensitisation efforts by the Corps to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring public safety through adherence to traffic rules and regulations.
According to a press release signed by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Marshal expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for the grace of protection and guidance given to the nation in the face of the various health, safety and security challenges experienced in the outgoing year. He therefore, appealed for sustained consciousness by people to overcome the challenges in the new year.
The Corps Marshal particularly enjoined members of the public not to violate the guidelines put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, stressing the need for people to regularly wash their hands with soap, wear face masks and observe social distancing. These he said, remain the best preventive measures against the infectious disease threatening the entire world through the second wave of the pandemic. “We must remain vigilant in all that we do, to avoid a situation where our actions and inactions could contribute to the spread of the dreaded disease,” he stated.
Bisi further disclosed that though the Corps Marshal is pleased with the conduct of most drivers during the recent Christmas celebration which made the rate and fatalities of road traffic crashes manageable, he however cautioned that if such good habits were not sustained in the new year, there could be a resurgence of crash situation which could undermine the gains made from the special patrol. “Every Nigerian must remain committed to tackling the challenges which road safety and COVID-19 pose to the nation’s health, safely, security and wellbeing by doing what is right at all times,” he further stated.
On the most common factors responsible for fatal crashes during the Christmas celebration, the Corps Marshal restated his earlier observations on the pervasiveness of speeding as a causative factor, noting that Commanding Officers have been given a marching order to force down the rate of speed induced crashes through aggressive enforcement of the laws on speed limiting devices.”The discovery that some Nigerians are still flouting the law on use of speed limiting devices in their vehicles resulting in the upsurge in speed related crashes recorded during the special patrol was unfortunate. But I want to assure all road users that such abdication of responsibility by the drivers would not be tolerated in the new year, “he warns.
Oyeyemi commended all the stakeholders that joined the road safety campaigns during the festive periods to make the roads safer, adding that road safety remains a shared responsibility which no single organisation can tackle all alone without support and collaboration of relevant stakeholders. He specially expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR for rendering all necessary moral and logistics support for the success of the campaigns with particular reference to prompt approval by the Federal Government to the third edition of the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy Document which will increase the impetus of road safety sensitisation programmes in the new year.
The FRSC Corps Marshal called on all Nigerians to embrace the ongoing safer road campaign and make it an all round success for quick socioeconomic development of the nation. He also reminded Nigerians that it’s only the living that can celebrate, stressing that speeding must be contained by all means, despite its thrilling effects.
While admonishing Nigerians on their personal responsibility to the campaigns to make the roads safer, Oyeyemi further urged the people to remain active by always observing the traffic rules and regulations and reporting road and other emergencies promptly to the FRSC toll free line: 122 or the studios of the National Traffic Radio-107.1fm through the telephone lines:08052998090 or 09067000015 for prompt response.
As he wishes all Nigerians safer and prosperous new year, the Corps Marshal assures the nation that FRSC will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding the roads throughout the new year and beyond for safety and security of the people. He further appealed to all to abide by the safety measures put in place to guarantee safety and security of all members of the public.
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
Fubara made this known in a statement personally signed on Wednesday, saying he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate, The Nations reported.
The governor said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, friends, and political associates.
“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party,” Fubara said.
Fubara said although the decision was difficult, he remained committed to supporting whoever would emerge as the APC governorship candidate.
According to him, leadership demands sacrifice and personal ambition must sometimes give way to the collective interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor expressed appreciation to his supporters for their loyalty, prayers and sacrifices throughout the political process, acknowledging that many would feel disappointed by his withdrawal.
He said his silence in recent weeks was “deliberate and strategic,” adding that it was guided by the higher interest of the state.
Tone Cole, APC chieftain and 2027 governorship aspirant in Rivers State, also announced his withdrawal from the race, saying his decision was, among other reasons, in the interest of the party’s unity.
