The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has clarified that it has not discontinued patrol points in the southeastern region, contrary to recent media reports. According to Corps Commander Olusegun Ogungbemide, the FRSC spokesperson, the corps will continue to conduct patrols to ensure full adherence to road traffic regulations, as stated in a statement released on Sunday, June 23.
According to Ogungbemide, Assistant Corps Marshal Uche Chukwurah, the Zonal Commanding Officer of Zone 9 Headquarters in Enugu, was misquoted as saying that patrol points had been abolished during her visit to the Abia State Sector Command in Umuahia, which was not the case.
The Zonal Commanding Officer’s statement was intended to reinforce the FRSC National Headquarters’ new operational strategy, which shifts focus away from static patrols, such as roadblocks. However, the message was regrettably misinterpreted to imply the elimination of patrol points in the zone due to security concerns, which was not the intended meaning.
“Nothing can be further from the truth as the statement was not only misleading but capable of giving wrong information to unsuspecting members of the public on the intention of the FRSC Management on the ongoing operational rejigging not targeted at the Southeastern states of the country but the nation at large”.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the policy of rejigging the operational strategy of the Corps as conceived by the present Management under Corps Marshal Shehu is aimed at improving the capacity of the personnel to respond promptly to distress calls through provision of functional operational vehicles, ambulances and motorbikes; retraining of personnel for efficient rescue services and increasing the mileage coverage of daily patrol activities for increased presence on parts of the road network”.
“Consequently, any meaning read to the original statement attributed to the Zonal Commanding Officer of Zone 9 Headquarters to create the impression that the FRSC is abolishing or intends to abolish patrol in the Southeast is distorted, misleading and should be disregarded. What the FRSC as the lead agency in road traffic management and safety administration in Nigeria and one of the security agencies charged with the responsibility of creating safer road environment is doing is to work harder to improve on its quality service delivery and support to other security agencies through credible processing of database on drivers and vehicles which has nothing to do with the abolition of patrol points in the Southeast as alleged”.
