The Anambra State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has deployed about one thousand and sixty personnel for election duties.
The state sector commander, CC Adeoye Irelewuyi, who disclosed it to ANN at the command headquarters Awka, explained that although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dictated the pace of the election, the FRSC he said, would only play a supportive role in conjunction with other security agencies to ensure successful polls.
The sector commander stated that FRSC is participating in vehicle certifications for the elections, adding that it is the duty and responsibility of FRSC to ensure that vehicles conveying electoral materials to local government areas and other places across the state are in good working conditions.
Irelewuyi also noted that FRSC is expected to enforce total lockdown on the day of the election against unauthorized movements of vehicles not on election duties as the electoral law provides especially inter-state movements so that the people of Anambra state can cast their votes freely and fairly.
He said the deployments have been made to various polling units and all FRSC staff detailed for election duties already know where they would work because they have been properly briefed. The state FRSC boss noted that strict professionalism and neutrality are expected from those involved in election duties as they are aware of the offence of partisanship and partiality in the course of their duties.
Irelewuyi was equally of the opinion that very senior officers of the corps would be going round the state to monitor and send feedbacks on the conduct of FRSC staff in the course of their election duties.
He also emphasized that the duties of the FRSC during the elections are restricted to maintaining law and order at the polling units to avoid breach of the electoral laws and does not include escorting candidates of political parties.
Irelewuyi who told our correspondent that one of the corporate strategic goals of the corps for 2023 is to have a 5% reduction in road traffic fatalities and injuries, noted that so far Anambra state has recorded low road traffic crashes since the beginning of the year 2023 and that the Command intends to keep it that way even after the elections, stressing that the Corps would deploy all her resources to ensure that speed which is the major causative factor of road traffic crashes is checked.
