By Stanley Onyekwere
The Director, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) otherwise known as Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), Dr. Abdul-Lateef Bello has charged officers and men of the Directorate to actively engage in sporting activities, in order to improve their health, social cohesion and service delivery.
Bello who described sports as life, expressed disgust with the level of sickening that is associated with some of DRTS staff, as it has all been work, with less or zero involvement in sporting activities.
Making this point during the maiden edition of the DRTS Director’s Table Tennis Championship at the weekend, he said the Directorate will be providing certain basic support and facilities to assist some of its staff willing to go into sports.
According to him, the DRTS has made a special provision for sporting equipment in the proposed 2023 budget, to enable it create an environment that is very virile and relaxed, in terms of service delivery, friendly and social cohesiveness.
He said: “We may be starting with the table tennis because of the fact it required small space, to able to put up the game, but subsequently, we are looking at other sporting activities like football, volleyball, lawn tennis and basket ball. In short, we want to dominate and participate in every other sporting activities like every other service agency. But, we have to start incrementally.
“It is a testimony of our willingness to spice up the activities of members of the DRTS, and to find a way of generating an interaction between our officers and men with those outside this particular service. It is another way of fostering relationships and equally developing our staff in terms of social cohesion.
“I want to assure everyone of you that we are going to be participating in several sporting activities both within and outside the premises of the DRTS. And, of course I should encourage everybody to show willingness, because sport is life.
“ I’m not particularly very happy with the level of sickening that is associated with some of our staff, as it has all been work, work and chasing money, so I think we should relax and play with ourselves, so that we can be more productive.”
The Director specially thanked those who had found it very necessary to participate in the competition, out of their very tight and demanding schedules.
Earlier, in his remarks, Assist Chief VIO, Head of Sports DRTS, Rimdan Nanjul, said the table tennis Competition is one of the cardinal programmes of the directorate, which is designed to improve the physical fitness and general wellness of all staff of road traffic services.
Nanjul noted that the Competition, has helped to enhance good working relationship and mutual coexistence amongst officers and men, and a crave for better participation in other sporting activities.
He disclosed that in view of the Director’s strong desire to encourage staff sports and recreational activities amongst themselves, he assigned a new Head of the Unit, and approved every Wednesday of the week 3-6pm for sporting activities.
At the end of the competition, which commenced 6th March, 2023, Mr. Andrew Akene (Finance and Accounts) emerged the champion, while Omole Olaitan (CMR) took the second position, and Olaitan Wasu ((admin and store) finished third. In addition to the presentation of the winner’s trophy and special gifts, they received cash token of N20,000; N15,000; and N10,000 respectively.
Akene, who spoke with newsmen on 5he sideline of the event, noted that competition will be a moral boosting as it actually enhance his capacity as a road traffic officer to enable him and his colleagues function better.
