12th April, 2014
Guinness Nigeria has partnered with the Federal Road Safety Corporation (FRSC) Benin, Edo State Command to host a Mega Easter Awareness Campaign on ‘Road Safety and Responsible Drinking’ aimed at discouraging inappropriate use of alcoholic beverages as well as drink driving.
The event which was preceded by an awareness walk through the streets of Benin was held on the heels of similar programmes which held in Awka, Anambra State and Asaba, Delta state.
The extensive three-day programme drew participation from personnel of the FRSC, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and employees of the Guinness Nigeria, Benin Brewery.
Kingsley Imade, Guinness Nigeria, Plant Manager, Benin Brewery said the company decided to partner with the FRSC on the campaign in order to educate Nigerian drivers about road safety as it relates to alcohol use and raise awareness about responsible drinking in a bid to continually add value to the societies where they do business.
“Alcohol and responsible drinking is an intrinsic part of our business model, we understand that Nigerians like to celebrate and make merry especially during festive periods such as the forthcoming Easter celebration and therefore it is of utmost importance for us at Guinness Nigeria to educate our communities and citizens about the benefits of the responsible enjoyment of alcohol beverages,” he said.
“It is our desire that the continued partnership with FRSC will galvanize other corporate institutions and organisations to commit and partner with us in raising awareness around Road Safety and responsible consumption of alcohol which would address the issue of ‘drink driving’ in Nigeria. Part of our contributions includes the provision of breathalyzers for the FRSC, which is necessary as they combat drunk driving”.
Assistant Corps Marshal Nsebong Akpabio, Zonal Commanding Officer, FRSC, Zone 5 Command, Benin commended Guinness Nigeria Plc for supporting the campaign and noted that road safety activities impacts directly on economic and social-cultural development of nations.
He continued that the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) as the governmental lead agency on road safety management and administration was currently activating various initiatives targeted at reducing road accidents to the barest minimum across the country.
“We at the FRSC commend Guinness Nigeria on its continuous collaboration to harness driver education to combat drink driving issues. Together our collaborative effort will improve road safety through driver education. We therefore advise the public that the permissible BAC limit in Nigeria is 0.05g, road users should shun driving when they have been drinking,” he stated.
Sector Commander, FRSC, Edo state, Sir Luka Umar Ikpi, also added that the road show and other measures put in place by Guinness and FRSC is geared towards achieving the corps objectivities to stem the tide of crashes in the zone. He added that this is in line with achieving the clarion call by the United Nations of reducing road traffic crash fatalities by 50 per cent by the year 2015.