Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has urged the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) Female Elite Corps to be fit always while performing their duties.

Mr Sanwo-Olu gave the advice when the LASTMA female elite corps and the management paid her a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Lagos.

The LASTMA Female Elite Corps, inaugurated on December 2, was to foster adherence to traffic regulations and promote orderly conduct among motorists in Lagos State. It is a highly specialised team of females in LASTMA.

“Being fit is very important because of the kind of work you all do, so it is of utmost importance that you undertake regular head to toe check-ups. It is said that prevention is better than cure and so to ensure that you do not break down, it is better that you prepare at all times. Your job exposes you to fumes from vehicles, so topmost, carry out a respiratory system test with others such as eye checks and blood pressure,” she said.

The governor’s wife appreciated the women for embarking on such kind of job, urging them to always encourage and lift each other up in the line of duty.

“Do not bring yourself down, go into constructive gossip. Do not limit yourself education wise. There are different ways of learning that you can adopt so embrace it. The world is moving to the digital age, you need to know basic things about online platforms that will help you educate your children, so be abreast of situations,” she said.

Mrs Sanwo-Olu told the women that the office of the governor’s wife was into advocacy such as mental health, boy-child, child abuse, drug abuse, urging them that they should report such cases in the course of duty.

She noted that her office would carry out health check every six months to ensure the women are improving themselves, adding that anyone found to come short would not be promoted.

“Lagos State wants zero tolerance to drug abuse and other vices, and so your duty on the road will be to ensure that people adhere to this by your reports to us. The moment you put your uniform on, you have taken an oath to ensure that Lagos is kept safe,” the governor’s wife said.

The LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said that upon his assumption of office in November last year, medical activities of officers were part of its core responsibility.

He said, “We ensure that at all times that officers check their health status. With this they will be able to have more efficient productivity on the road and serve the public better. Once they are healthy, the state will be better.”

Mr Bakare-Oki added that the visit was part of the agency’s continuous ember month safety campaign where Lagos residents, especially the road users, are educated on need to obey traffic rules and regulations and prioritise safety.

“This period experiences many activities and movement of people from point A to B. LASTMA as an organisation that is saddled with free flow of traffic wants to ensure that the state will have an accident free Yuletide,” he said.

The Team Lead, LASTMA female elite corps, Assistant Chief Traffic Officer, Biola Aina, noted that safety was a core component of the corps.

“We have been sensitising the public to the need for safety. We took the safety campaign to parks, market places and we will ensure that this period is devoid of any incidents,” she said. 

(NAN)