The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbsola has said that the Federal Fire Service, FFS saved properties worth 18.9 trillion naira in 2021.
The Minister’s disclosure was made known via a press statement issued earlier today by his Media Adviser, Sola Fasure.
TheFact Nigeria reports that in addition to the properties saved, 587 lives were saved while 260 persons were rescued from various raging fires in the period under review.
According to the minister, the achievements recorded by the Service are attributable to the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which has committed more resources in the Fire Service between 2015 and date, than since its creation in 1901. He also noted that between 2015 and 2020, the Federal Government had provided 106 modern firefighting trucks to the Service.
Ogbeni Aregbsola further disclosed that in 2021, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved the procurement of N10.4bn worth of infrastructure upgrade, which have since been deployed. He said that the infrastructure upgrade consisted of 44 firefighting engines, 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines – with capacity to access nooks and crannies to respond to distress calls – and 20 basic life support ambulances.
Furthermore, 17 fire fighting officers were sent on an advanced trainer-training course in Belarus. These officers are the master trainers expected to train other officers on modern fire fighting, disaster and emergency management.
The Minister commended the immediate past Controller General, CG, of the Service, Alhaji Liman Ibrahim for his visionary leadership and invaluable contribution to the Service, and prayed that he would find happiness and fulfilment in retirement as well as resounding success in his endeavours.
While congratulating the newly decorated Deputy Controller Generals, DCGs, Aregbsola stated that DCG Karibo Samson had been appointed to lead the Service in acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive CG.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, CDCFIB, Hajia Rufai Ahmed, read the citation of all the newly promoted DCGs as well as reasons why they were promoted. She charged them to live up to thier billing.
Responding on behalf of the newly promoted officers, Acting CG of the FFS, DCG Karibo Samson, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the confidence reposed in them and assured that they would not disappoint Nigerians in the course of discharging thier statutory responsibility to the public.
Attendees at the event include the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Commissioner, Appointment and Promotion, CDCFIB, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Etim Bassey (rtd), Commissioner, Discipline and General Purposes, CDCFIB, ACG Ado Abdullahi Ja’afar (rtd), Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, CG Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, CG of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, Mr. Haliru Nababa, among other invited guests.
