Fire service to receive enhanced Welfare package

Fire service to receive enhanced Welfare package
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos

Plans are now underway for the Fire Servicemen in Lagos State to receive a comprehensive insurance and an enhanced pay under the Paramilitary Salary Scale approved by the Nigerian government.

Disclosing this, while fielding question at the Ministerial Press Briefing organized as part of activities to mark the 4th year administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, the State Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Babatunde Balogun revealed that before the end of the year, the new salary structure for fire service workers would be implemented.

“Right now the Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pension has a memo for considering when to commence the payment of the new salary to the brave-men, Lagos State Fire Service,” he said.

Motivational incentives

Balogun pointed out that it was a known fact the work of the firemen involve great risk which has led to the establishment of series of awards and recognition such as; Lagos State Governor’s office correspondents (LAGOCO) award for Excellence service delivery, Best State Fire Service in Nigeria, adjudged by National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) in collaboration with Central Emergency Medical Clearing House limited (CEMCH) and the Institute of Disaster, Safety and Security Management among others.

He hinted that the State Government had also put in place a Comprehensive Insurance for the men of the State fire Service to protect them against loss of lives or major accident that might befall them in the course of carrying out their duties.

The State Commissioner for Home Affairs and culture, further appealed to the Nigerian government to hand over the Federal owned fire service stations in the State, to the state Government in order to meet the challenges of combating fire disasters, noting that Federal Fire Service stations are in strategical places in terms of location.

Commitment to road safety

Lagos State Government has also reiterated its commitment to the reduction of road crashes by 50 percent by 2015 just as it marks the World Safety Day. 

Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation Comrade Kayode Opeifa, who expressed this commitment while enjoining all road users especially motorists to be more road friendly, urged pedestrians to use foot bridge or make use of zebra crossings.

Opeifa also advised motorcycle operators to conform with the guidelines agreed last year which has resulted in tremendous reduction in Okada road accidents in the State.  
 
Strategic goals 

Stating the various strategies adopted by the State Government, to realise the goal of complete reduction by 2020, the Special Adviser said that road safety education had been taken to the Primary and Secondary Schools in a programme designed to use students and pupils as agents of change.

Others are massive road rehabilitation, road and junction improvement , provision of traffic signal Lights,  lane markings, Zebra crossing, overhead footbridges as well as regulation of motorcycle operations  for safety and security purposes. All which the hallmarks of the UN action plan are as contained in the Decade of action document.

He said that the goals of the programme included protecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, investing in transport and traffic education, ensuring safer road designs, producing safer vehicles, stricter vehicular inspection and the use of children as change agents.

Williams