The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has urged Muslims to strictly adhere to the health and safety regulations as provided by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
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The Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), ACM Bisi Kazeem, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Oyeyemi said that Muslim faithful needed to follow health tips toward effective control of spread of Coronavirus in the country during the Sallah celebration.
He felicitated with the Muslims, stressing its spiritual importance and need for people to observe personal health and safety rules during the festivity.
He stressed the importance of the celebration which he said was centred on the need for obedience to God and for people to always show discipline even with the inconveniences involved.
He noted that the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son in fulfilment of his earlier promise to God was a lesson in sacrifice and discipline which human beings must imbibe.
He enjoined motorists to particularly imbibe the message by using the road with caution through obedience to all traffic rules and regulations.
Oyeyemi expressed concern with the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country which he said had led to initial total lockdown of the country by the federal government, but later reviewed with lifting of the ban on interstate travels.
He further observed that in spite of the partial commencement of socio-economic and religious activities in the country, every citizen must remain committed to observing preventive measures.
This he said, was in order to control spread of the disease, saying that the Sallah celebration must be observed under the strict health and safety protocols.
“This Sallah celebration provides Muslims another opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the prevention of the dreaded disease by adhering strictly to all the safety and health protocols.
“This is including regular washing of hands with soap, wearing of facemasks and observing the social distancing rules,” the Corps Marshal said.
Oyeyemi added that part of the measures as directed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 was the directives that vehicles must carry only 50 per cent of passenger capacity.
According to him, this is important for management of motor parks as well as passengers to work together to ensure that no aspects of the safety rules is compromised during the intra and interstate travels.
He further said that in line with the FRSC’s operational timetables during festive periods, adequate deployments of personnel and logistics as well as monitors from the National Headquarters have been effected.
“This is to cover all major highways across the country including crowded areas for effective coverage,” he said.
The FRSC boss enjoined members of the public particularly motorists to show restraint while driving and obey all traffic rules and regulations.
He said this was necessary to avoid cases of congestion, holdup and breakdown of vehicles which could affect free flow of traffic.
He reiterated the commitment of the FRSC to safety of every road user during and after the Sallah celebration.
He called on members of the public to immediately report cases of emergency to the FRSC Call Centre through the toll free line: 122.
“You can also directly call the studio of the National Traffic Radio (NTR) through: 08052998090 or 09067000015 for prompt response.
“I wish all Nigerians happy and successful Sallah celebration,” he added.