The Corps Commander, Rivers State Command of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Salisu Umar Galadinci, has revealed that most of the commission’s personnel recently upgraded from junior to senior cadre used to be students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
He said the personnel who were upgraded in the last promotion exercise carried out by management of the commission wre those who improved their academic qualifications at the university.
Galadinci made the disclosure in his welcome remarks as he received the advocacy team of the Port Harcourt Study Centre of NOUN in his office in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, 15 September, 2021.
The corps commander said his commission has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Open University of Nigeria to train its personnel who are interested in acquiring university degrees, and that the commission’s policy that no personnel of FRSC should embark upon any tertiary education programme outside 200 kilometres distance from his service post, was formulated with NOUN in mind, knowing that NOUN must have a study centre within every 200 kilometre in all the geopolitical zones of the country.
Galadinci said that he is very proud of the establishment of NOUN by the federal government and of what NOUN has done in providing access to university education for Nigerians.
He added that many of the FRSC personnel in his command were already students of NOUN; and that he felt duty bound to encourage members of the commission to enroll at the university.
The centre director, Port Harcourt Study Centre, Dr. Nnenna Chukwuma, who led the NOUN team on the visit, expressed her delight on how much Galadinci knew about the university.
“I am very happy that the corps commander knows so much about my university. He has actually made my job here very easy. I can’t take this to be an advocacy visit anymore, but a partnership visit because I can confidently refer to Mr. Galadinci as a NOUN ambassador,” she said.
In a related development, the advocacy train of the centre berthed at Mile 1 Police Station, Diobu, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday 14 September, 2021 and was received by the head of the station, ASP Akankpo.
Akankpo said he considered the advocacy message very important, hence he decided to create chance in the Division’s weekly training for NOUN to sensitise his officers and men on the programmes and operations of the university.
He said that all he could do to help his people was to encourage them to embrace academic self-improvement to prepare for emerging opportunities.
Chukwuma thanked the Police Chief for affording her and her team an opportunity to enlighten the police personnel on the programmes and mode of operation of the university.
On Thursday, 16 September, 2021, the advocacy campaign was taken to the local government headquarters of Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The council secretary, Chief Vincent Chukwu, who received the NOUN delegation on behalf of the chairman of the local government area, said he was very happy about the advocacy visit.
He said the university has not done enough advocacy, hence a lot of people were still ignorant about the presence and operations of NOUN in his local government area in particular and Rivers State in general.
Chukwu inquired about the time that the university would recommence admission into its Law programme now that the Law graduates from the university have been admitted into the Nigerian Law School.
He prayed the centre director to find a way to reach out to either the state governor, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, and the state Ministry of Education for the possibility of opening another study centre in the state, as he considered the only one available inadequate to satisfactorily meet the needs and yearnings of the people of Rivers State.
He added that he would create a forum in which the centre director would address the entire staff of Emohua Local Government Council for proper sensitisation on NOUN and its benefits.
Responding, Chukwuma assured Chukwu that admission into the Law programme of NOUN would commence as soon as the management gives a nod on that.
She promised to avail herself to address the staff of the council and to answer any question they may raise on the appointed date.
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