By James Eze ([email protected])
The first computerised Vehicles Inspection Garage in the South East and South South Zones opened in Awka, the capital of Anambra State yesterday, as part of the bold efforts of the Obiano administration to minimise the rate of road accidents in the state.
Commissioning the ultramodern garage that is conservatively valued at $5m USD (N1.6bn), the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, explained that the plan was to build a similar garage in Onitsha and Nnewi respectively to ensure an even spread of the facilities and increase access to motorists from across the state.
According to Governor Obiano, the overall consideration for building the garage in partnership with Temple Syc Inspection Limited is to minimise the carnage on Anambra roads and inculcate the culture of safety in motorists.
The governor, who announced that the state had concluded plans to hire additional 100 able bodied men and women to join the state VIO further declared: “We are making efforts to save lives. The VIO and FRSC personnel will insist that defaulting motorists should visit the garage to run a comprehensive check on them that would maximise safety on the roads. The technicians are on duty for 24 hours to diagnose and prescribe the right solutions to ailing automobiles.”
Governor Obiano further warned motorists that his administration had equipped the FRSC with Speed Guns and Alcohol Detecting Devices to ensure that vehicles plying the state do not speed and also ensure that motorists do not hit the wheels while drunk.
He said the state had embarked on a vigorous repair of potholes through its Operation Zero Pothole team in order to minimise road accidents caused by motorists that are confused on the road because of the preponderance of potholes.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), Igwe Cyril Enweze, had explained that the computerised vehicle inspection garage would train and employ 150 people and improve compliance to safety standards in the state by ensuring that only road-worthy vehicles ply Anambra roads.
Igwe Enweze also reckoned that the garage would ease traffic congestion in the state by reducing the number of vehicles that breakdown on highways and major streets, thereby causing obstruction and traffic congestion.
The retired banker also observed that the garage would have a positive impact on the environment, as it would reduce the level of emissions from vehicles held up in the traffic and the consequent pollution of the environment.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Managing Director of Temple Syc Inspection Limited, Prince Segun Obayendo, had pointed out that the garage fell within Pillar 3 of the United Nations Decade of Safety Initiative of 2010.
Prince Obayendo lauded Governor Obiano for placing a high priority on the safety of human lives over and above the usual unbridled drive for revenue generation.
Said he: “This is as unique project that exclusively emphasises the sanctity of human lives over and above any consideration. The centre is a three-lane station with a combined capacity to inspect a minimum of 180 vehicles per day. In the coming months and before the end of the year, the Onitsha and Nnewi centres should be ready.”
He also thanked the governor for giving a company owned by a non-indigene of the state a chance to contribute to the revolutionary strides of his administration in Anambra with the commissioning of the Temple Syc Computerised Vehicle Inspection Garage.
Since he took over from former governor Peter Obi in March 2014, Governor Willie Obiano has continued to chart a new direction in purposeful governance, churning out one innovation after another to demonstrate that visionary leadership is not alien to Nigerians.