The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Cross River State Command, has recorded significant progress in road safety awareness and compliance since the flag-off of the 2025 Ember Months Public Enlightenment and Sensitisation Campaign.
The Sector Commander, Innocent Etuk, disclosed this during a town hall in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, southern Nigeria, attended by government officials, traditional rulers, transport operators, union leaders and representatives of religious organisations.
Etuk revealed that since the campaign commenced, the state had recorded only one non-fatal accident, which he attributed to mechanical failure rather than reckless driving.
He said, “there has been an improvement on the road. This campaign has really helped to the extent that passengers are even taking responsibility for their own safety. It is more of a holistic campaign now, in which everybody, the drivers, the passengers and even people at the park, the safety managers too, everybody, join hands to see that everyone takes responsibility for safety.”
Continuing, he stated, “The Corps is looking at a time when we can have a country where there will be zero death and no fatalities. Since this campaign started three weeks ago, I can assure you that there has been a total reduction in road crashes.
“We only recorded one crash in the State and it was not fatal. It was just the driver losing control and all the passengers were rescued. So, we have not lost anyone; definitely there has been a reduction in crashes,” the sector commander emphasized.
Etuk described the achievement as a clear indication that the campaign’s message on responsible driving and safety consciousness was yielding positive results across the state.
He reaffirmed the corps’ commitment to maintaining zero fatal crashes during the festive period, stressing “the FRSC would sustain its deployment of personnel, town hall sensitisation meetings and collaboration with relevant agencies and community leaders to ensure safer roads.”
Road User Consciousness
Representing Governor Bassey Otu at the meeting, the Cross River State Commissioner for Transport, Ekenyong Cobham, commended the FRSC for its proactive efforts and urged road users to remain alert and comply strictly with traffic rules and regulations.
Cobham said, “it is a personal responsibility to ensure safety of your life first as a road user. You cannot outsource your safety to the other road user when you yourself are not responsible. We expect that from this meeting and others, which we are utilising to drive the consciousness of road users, there will be mutuality.”
He assured that the state government would continue to support initiatives that promote road safety and public enlightenment.
In an interview with Voice of Nigeria, the Federal Controller of Works in Cross River State, Yinka Onafuye, appealed to motorists traveling for the Christmas season to be mindful of ongoing construction of the Calabar – Itu and Calabar – Ikom highways.
Onafuye urged, “I strongly advise motorists traveling to their various villages to be conscious of the ongoing construction work along the major highways. We are partnering with the Federal Road Safety Corps to safeguard commuters along the highways this December and beyond.”
The meeting, which featured goodwill messages from other stakeholders, formed part of the FRSC’s ongoing statewide engagements to reinforce public enlightenment under the “Take Responsibility for Your Safety: Stop Distracted Driving” campaign theme.
Olusola Akintonde