The Rivers State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Salisu Umar Galadunci, on Thursday – October 7, for first time since assumption of duty in the state, paid a courtesy visit to the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) Ahmed Dikko, on its efforts to continue strengthen the stakeholders relationship in line with Corps’ Strategic Goals.
Speaking, CC Galadunci, started by tracing the long ties the Corps has with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation at large with a memorial to his host of the previous memorandum of understanding between the duo with a specific aim of ensuring the success of ‘Safe To Load’ program.
He reminded that, the initiative gave birth to selecting and training 168 Officers trained and deployed to various Tank Farms across the country with the aim of ensuring minimum safety standard of all tankers loading at deports.
The Sector Commander noted that the program is a huge success on account of drastic reduction in tanker explosion in Nigeria. He informed the MD that Rivers State has about 18 of such persons deployed at various Tank Farms in Port Harcourt and Eleme axis.
He highlight the motivating factor for the introduction of the scheme way back as a result of the catastrophe statistics where in 2015 total of 17,198 were involved in road traffic crashes, while 844 were tanker/ trailer related attached to the causative factors like fuel crisis, high cost of acquiring new vehicles, unsafe loading and off loading, underage drivers, poor roads and infrastructure, and lack of rest areas among other things.
The Sector Commander added that these statistics did not go down well with the Corps as the leading agency of traffic management, therefore some immediate mitigative actions were taken to reverse trend by organising stakeholders meeting and embarking of special operations code named ” Operation Scorpion” along some selected major highways of the country.
He said the Corps also mobilised and made sure Nigeria ascended to the 5 UN Conventions on road safety. The implication is to save lives on the road, exchange best practices on global road safety, transpose uniform rules of the road in its domestic traffic legislation for safe driving behaviors, and to facilitate trade with signatory countries to align Nigeria with the best practices.
The Corps Commander Salisu Umar Galadunci therefore solicit the Company’s maximum support to succeed and tackle this meance of tanker drivers in Rivers State.
He opined that the State has the lowest record of tanker crashes since he assumed duty in the state due to constant road patrols, sensitisation of tanker drivers and collaboration with NUPENG/PTD.
CC Galadunci, reiterated the importance of achieving this considering Rivers State as the hub of petroleum products industries scattered around the State. He observed their activity puts much pressure on the roads, especially the Eleme axis. He called on the MD to mount pressure to ensure the road is mended for ease of doing business.
The Sector Commander while commending the Tank Farm owners for cooperating with the Officers, he however decried the attitude of some of them who want by all means to bypass the standard of not for the doggedness of the staff deployed to the place.
He also seeks the intervention of the MD to intervene so that those Officers who do not have offices be given by their hosts, including the Officer deployed at the Refining Company who is yet to get an office space for the activity.
In his response the Mr Ahmed Dikko was delighted by the visit, He went on to praise the Corps Marshal of the FRSC Dr Boboye Oyeyemi for coming up with such noble safety measures programmes for the benefit of the people.
He said the company is a safety compliant organisation, safety is the watchword of NNPC, therefore he must continue to involve in everything humanly possible to collaborate with FRSC for the success of the Safe To Load program.
He informed the Sector Commander that the Company is undergoing complete overhaul, and that very soon when that is completed the Company will no doubt need the road to be free for movement of trucks. Thus the FRSC services must be needed to clear the road.
On the issue of lack of office accommodation by Officers posted to the PHRC, the MD promised he will direct the Area Manager to ensure that he allocated offices.
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