By Moses Akaigwe
As part of the activities to honour the retiring Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) boss, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal’s Strategic Session of the agency’s high command was held last week during which officers who excelled in various areas were honoured.
One of the awardees is Osondu Ohaeri, an Assistant Corps Commander {ACM}, and a ranking member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations {NIPR}, who bagged a meritorious award as the most outstanding Unit Commander in the entire corps.
With Dr. Oyeyemi tenure as the Corps Marshal of the FRSC officially ending yesterday {Sunday, July 24}, a ceremonial pull-out parade is expected to be held in Abuja today to celebrate his retirement from the cops he has been part of since inception in 1988.
The FRSC has also approved the appointment of four new Deputy Corps Marshals, including the Principal Staff Officer to the Corps Marshal, Abayomi Olukoju, formerly an Assistant Corps Marshal.
This is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, an ACM, who disclosed that the newly promoted DCMs, would, however, proceed on terminal leave.
According to the statement, the approval was given during the meeting of the FRSC board on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Apart from Olukoju, other new DCMs are Olakunle Motojo, ACM Technical Services; Alhassan Hussaini, ACM Administration; and Ayodele Kumapayi, Benin Zonal Commanding Officer.
“The affected officers are to proceed on their terminal leave with immediate effect,” he added.
The statement said Chairman of the Commission, Malam Bukhari Bello, congratulated the newly elevated officers, saying promotion was part of the efforts to reward excellence, diligence and hard work
Dr. Oyeyemi also congratulated the newly appointed officers and wished them a happy retirement.
The out-going Corps Marshal said they merited the promotions as a result of their hard work, resilience, loyalty and dedication to duty
At the Corps Marshal’s Strategic Session of the FRSC high Command, awards were presented in various categories to deserving staff of the corps, cutting across the departments and corps offices.
The awards were presented by the FRSC Board Chairman and the retiring Corps Marshal during the session organsed to take stock of the corps’ performance in the last quarter and chart the way forward for improved service delivery on the nation’s highways.
Sources from the FRSC disclosed that the awards were in partial fulfillment on the corps’ policy thrust on consultation, reward and punishment. The policy seeks to emphasize wider consultation, recognition of staff for outstanding performance and appropriate sanctions for acts of default which do not conform with the corps’ rules of engagement.
Ohaeri, who is presently the Unit Commander of the Lugbe Unit Command of the FRSC, was honoured in recognition of his outstanding performance in the area of routine patrols, rescue services, traffic control and prompt response to traffic-related matters along the Lugbe Airport road.
The Assistant Corps Marshal is saddled with the responsibility of manning the critical Lugbe Airport road, which is known for its high density of human and vehicular traffic stretching from the City Gate to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Prior to his present appointment, the Unit Commander has served the corps in various capacities such as Media Officer at the National headquarters in Abuja, Unit Head of Operations at Keffi and Bida in Nasarawa and Niger states respectively, Head, Special Duties and External Relations and ACC Operations at Kaduna Sector Command.
The Corps Marshal charged the recipients to see the award as an indication for their hard work and contribution towards achieving the Corps’ Strategic Goals on road crash reduction and calls for more efforts towards realizing the collective goals on making Nigerian roads safer.
Reacting to the award in a telephone chat, the award-winning Unit Commander described the honour as the outcome of team work among staff of the Lugbe Unit Command, logistic support from the FRSC management and other positive variables.
Ohaeri explained that the support has motivated officers and men of the unit command in the right direction, adding that the staff would not rest on their oars towards ensuring safer road use along the Lugbe airport road.
Aside the National Headquarters in Abuja, the FRSC operates a 12 zonal command structure, 37 sector commands, including the FCT, and 209 unit commands formations across the country.