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The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi has urged Officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) to see their jobs as complementary and put heads together to improve working relations between the two organisations for enhanced productivity.
He stated this in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the workshop organised by the FRSC for the Vehicle Inspection Officers of the Federation at the FRSC National Headquarters, Abuja.
Oyeyemi, who expressed satisfaction with the growing level of understanding between the FRSC and vehicle inspection officers said the Workshop was in continuation of the capacity development efforts of the FRSC for the personnel responsible for vehicle inspection, drivers’ testing and certification.
This, he said, is necessary for sustainable reforms being carried out by the FRSC in the licensing system of the country noting that vehicle inspection is an essential element for ensuring safety on our highways.
“To us in FRSC, collaboration with the relevant stakeholders is the only way towards achieving efficiency in traffic management and vehicle administration. Thus there is no room for rivalry between stakeholders, as FRSC and other stakeholders like VIO can only perform optimally in their various assignments when they work as a team”, he stated.
Oyeyemi disclosed that the facility tour by the participants was to enable them appreciate some of the important infrastructure the Corps has invested in to facilitate its modernisation process for enhanced operations, diligent traffic management and due process in the production of the National Driver’s Licence and Number Plates.
“It is our hope that if you are well acquainted with these facilities, you will appreciate the investments we have made in information and communication technology and key into the campaign to achieve the global best practice in our licensing system using the tools of technology,” he further stated.
Oyeyemi reassured the VIOs that FRSC is not interested in usurping the responsibilities of the state governments as the issuing authorities in driver’s licence and number plates, pointing out that its major concern remains the need for uniformity, standards and integrity of the system as demonstrated in the tripartite arrangement for the production and issuance of the driver’s licence and number plates. “We have consistently demonstrated the spirit of cooperation though the tripartite arrangement put in place in the production of the National Drivers Licence (NDL) as well as number plates,” he added.
“The arrangement ensures that the states retain the powers of training, testing and certifying the would-be-drivers for driving proficiency before presenting their data for issuance of the licences to the FRSC which captures the biometric data into the national database for uniformity, standards and integrity of the system”, the Corps Marshal said.
Oyeyemi stressed that FRSC will work with other stakeholders to ensure continuous vigilance and commitment to due process in dealing with the those that engage in the malpractices witnessed in the drivers’ licences, saying he has directed all drivers’ License centres across the county to ensure that proper procedure is always followed in processing the licenses for the applicants to avoid undermining the system.
The Corps Marshal appealed to the state governments to invest more in the capacity development of their Vehicle Inspection Officers to enable them acquire the necessary professional competence and techniques to carry out their functions most efficiently. “It is my hope that this workshop would provide a new platform for us to work more closely towards engendering interaction and consultations necessary for building greater synergy in the interest of efficient vehicle inspection and administration in the country,” Oyeyemi further stated.
The workshop which attracted Chief Vehicle Inspection Officers from the 36 states of the Federation including the FCT, involved presentation of lectures by Resource Persons, demonstrations and facility tours by participants to the FRSC infrastructures in the National Headquarters and other places as well as the VIO Computerised Vehicle Testing Centre. (FRSC NEWS)
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