By Sani Idris

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kaduna Sector Command, on Sartuday offered eyes, suger level and blood pressure checkup, for Kaduna drivers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the free medical checkup was done as part of the FRSC corporate social responsibility, while on a one-day ember months safety campaign at the 740 Motor Park in Kaduna.

The Kaduna Acting Sector Commander of the FRSC, DCC Garba Lawal, said the excercise was to ensure safety and zero or drastic reduction of road crashes, especially during the yuletide and the 2023 general elections usually characterised by increase in vehicular movements.

The safety campaign was tagged ‘Avoid speeding, overloading and unsafe tyres to arrive alive’.

Lawal, represented by Deputy Corps Commander (DCC) Operations, Solomon Igbogbo, said the medical outreach, especially the eye check, was to enable the drivers have good judgment on the needful while on road.

“Once you have a good sight, you have a good judgment and vice versa; we have been able to identify poor judgment as one of the major causes of crashes on our high ways, which results from poor eye sight.

“Once light is beamed on drivers who have poor eye sight while driving, they loose judgment as a result of the temporary blindness that immediately ocours,”he said.

Lawal added that the eye check would enable the drivers to know if they had any problem association to the eyes, noting that the eyes were a very important part of the body which needed proper maintenance.

He also said the other medical checkups were critical, especially to ensure that drivers were healthy before plying the road.

He said drivers who needed eye glasses would be given medical advice and to those who engaged in unhealthy lifestyle that might affect their means of livelihood as drivers.

He called on drivers to avoid night travels, noting that the year end was accompanied by hazy weather.

“Drivers must be contented, they will want to make more journeys during this period, to make up for the losses they had during the rainy season which had less people that engaged in journey,” said.

Lawal also called on the drivers to have good tyres, light system and ensure being in good state of health before plying the road.

Also, an optometrist, Dr. Chris Ohacha, said the driver on the wheel was confronted with averlant situations which he had to make fast decisions within seconds to avert road crash.

He said that the driver’s response to the situation depended on quality and quantity of visual information his eyes could gather around and send to the brain for processing and reintegration for prompt decision making.

“Once the sight is bad, then there is high chance of road crash, hence the need for the eye check among other medical checkup,”he said.

Speaking on behalf of the drivers, the Chairman of the 740 Motor Park, Alhaji Muhammad Barau, thanked the FRSC for the gesture.

He said the medical checkup would go along way in complementing their efforts to ensure healthy drivers which would translate to reduction in road crashes.

NAN reports that the hospitals that facilitated the checkup were Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Saint Gerald, Harmony Hospital and Thelish Eye Centre.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

News Local

Obi apologises for not visiting ailing Rivers Labour Party Gov candidate

NURUDEEN SHOTAYO

November 19, 2022 6:14 PM

The Labour Party presidential candidate said he had not been briefed about the state of health of the governorship candidate.

Peter Obi. [Vanguard]

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has apologised to the party's governorship candidate in Rivers State, Beatrice Itubo, for not visiting her during his last trip to the state.

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This comes two days after the former Anambra State governor went to commission the Nkpolu-Oroworokwo Flyover in Port-Harcourt built by Governor Nyesom Wike.

While in the state, Obi met with some Labour Party stakeholders before and after the event and later paid a courtesy call on Pastor David Ibiyeomie, founder of the Salvation Ministries.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party candidate did not meet with the governorship candidate of his party who is reported to be on her sickbed.

Reacting to the development, Obi in a series of tweets on his Twitter page on Saturday, November 19, 2022, described his not visiting Itubo as an "inadvertent oversight" caused by lack of prior information on the candidate's health status.

Obi's tweets read: "My sincere apologies to Mrs Beatrice Itubo, the Labour Party candidate in Rivers State for an inadvertent oversight. When I visited Port Harcourt a few days back, I was not informed or aware of her sickness.

"On arrival in PH, I was welcomed by the Labour Party Presidential State Coordinator in Rivers State and other Party stakeholders. We had a useful meeting and I explained to them the purpose of my visit, which was to respectfully honour an invitation by the Rivers State Government and that I will return for our party's rally and other LP engagements soon.

"No one mentioned that our candidate was sick, otherwise I would have visited her before or after the event. I had committed to passing through the campaign office no matter how late, and that I did at about 6.30pm. My dear sister, I sincerely wish you a very quick recovery and reassure you of our good working relationship. May God Almighty bless you always. -PO"