The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oyo State Command, says the command will deploy a total number of 1,797 personnel, including special Marshals during the Eid-el- Kabir celebration to ensure free flow of traffic.
The FRSC Sector Commander in Oyo State, Mrs Chukwurah Uche, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) on Tuesday in Ibadan.
The Federal Government has declared July 30 and July 31, 2020 as public holiday to mark the Muslim festival of Eid-el Kabir, also known as “Festival of Sacrifice.”
It is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year. It honors the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his
son, Ismael, as an act of obedience to Almighty Allah, the creator of the world.
The sector commander, therefore, said that 20 patrol vehicles, one ambulance and one towing truck would also be deployed for the exercise.
She added that aside its plan to carry out 24 hours rescue operation throughout the celebration for Road Traffic Crash (RTC)
victims, the command would also clear gridlock-prone areas in the state for easy movement of vehicles.
She noted that the command would ensure that vehicles were not overloaded in terms of passengers and
goods, as well as complied with social distancing, especially for commercial vehicles.
“The command will ensure that COVID-19 protocols such as the use of face mask, social distancing in vehicles are enforced to curtail the spread of
the virus in a period like this.
“We are going all out to ensure that passengers and others adhere to the use of face mask and other COVID-19 protocols.
“On our part, we have provided all Personal Protective Equipment needed by the staff so as not to endanger their lives by contracting the virus in the course of their job, so they will be well equipped during this celebration,” she said.
The commander said that the command carried out intensive public enlightenment to fleet operators and stationed officers at motor parks to ensure that washing hand equipment, water, soap and sanitizer are in place.
Uche said that enlightenment programmes were carried out by the corps on the need for motorists to drive safely.
She further said that the corps would not neglect any gridlock prone areas in Oyo State, “especially Iwo road interchange where we often experience heavy traffic flow.
“Motorists should shun overloading, speeding and take other road users into consideration while on the wheel.”
The sector commander urged motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations to reduce road crashes to the barest in Nigeria. (NAN)
