FRSC ASSURES OF ITS PREPAREDNESS FOR 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Following the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold last Saturday, 16 February, 2019 and the new rescheduled date of Saturday, 23rd February 2019 and March 9, 2019 for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections respectively, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has assured members of the public on the level of preparedness and general participation of the FRSC in the general elections.


According to a press release signed by the FRSC spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Marshal gave the assurances in Abuja on Thursday, while briefing members of the press, saying FRSC has always participated in election duties since the commencement of civil rule under the current democratic dispensation. He further stated that not only is the FRSC a member of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for this year's general elections, it is also a member of INEC’s Interministerial Committee on logistics.

"In furtherance of this, the Corps developed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on its staff's involvement in the elections and conducted capacity development programmes for the participating staff nationwide for them to have clearer understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the election duties," the Corps Marshal stated

The statement further revealed that FRSC was given the responsibility of inspecting and certifying all vehicles that would be used by INEC to convey election materials and personnel to their operational areas, adding that 1,328 personnel of the Corps were deployed for inspection and certification of the vehicles nationwide. "To this end, a total of 58,812 vehicles  have so far been inspected and certified, while the assignment is on going especially in areas where extra vehicles are required," he stated.

Kazeem quoted the Corps Marshal as saying that 17, 937 personnel of the Corps have been deployed for election duties across the country, noting that while 5,144 of them are Officers, 12,793 are Marshals. "These personnel are to support the Nigeria Police Force which is the lead agency in election security matters for redeployment to the various Polling units in conjunction with members of other security agencies as well as enforcement of restriction order on vehicle movement during election hours," the statement read.

"For the general safety and security of people on election day, FRSC has also deployed 77 Ambulances, 667 Patrol Vehicles and 18 Tow Trucks nationwide, while its Call Centre would remain open and functional to attend to all distress and emergency calls from members of the public," it added.

Bisi further revealed in the statement that in addition to other personnel and logistics deployments made by the Corps across the country, 70 Senior Officers of the Corps have been deployed from the National Headquarters to the various states of the federation to monitor the exercise and ensure that all the deployed personnel and logistics conform to the terms of the operational procedures. 'Furthermore, we have warned our personnel on the need to take this assignment seriously and for them to be diligent, non partisan and outstanding in their conduct before, during and after the elections," the statement further disclosed.

The Corps Marshal reassured members of the public that like before, FRSC will continue to contribute its quota to the socioeconomic development of the nation in support of civil authorities especially in the areas of safety administration and traffic management.