Brand owners under the aegis of BSG (Beer Sectorial Group) of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have launched the 2023 Don’t Drink & Drive campaign. The campaign was flagged off last Wednesday in Lagos. Manufacturing companies under the BSG include Nigerian Breweries Plc, International Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc.
Speaking at the Launch, Hans Essaadi, the Chairman of the BSG and Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc said that BSG had signed an MOU with the FRSC in 2017 to support the FRSC’s goal of achieving a safe motoring environment in Nigeria. It was that MOU that gave rise to the annual “Don’t Drin k & Drive” campaign. From that period, he explained, it has remained a flagship project of the BSG and the FRSC . The main objective has remained enlightening drivers and other road users on the dangers of drunk-driving and how best to avoid this.
His words, “The BSG and the FRSC have executed this campaign as an annual event from 2018 to date, except in 2020, when the campaign did not hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The campaign advocates against any association between alcohol consumption and driving, including advocating against the sale of alcohol at motor parks. To this end, the BSG and the FRSC conduct random voluntary breathalyzer testing at motor parks, to demonstrate how the FRSC discharges its duty in testing drivers for alcohol consumption”, he said.
To ensure that the FRSC works efficiently in its task to ensure the safety of all road users, the BSG regularly donates new breathalysers to the agency, in addition to testing and recalibrating existing breathalysers. The breathalysers will be used in testing drivers before and after embarking on a journey to ensure that the drivers do not drink and drive.
Also, in his comment at the launch, Dauda Biu, the FRSC Corp Marshall, acknowledged the importance of the FRSC’s partnership with the BSG and called for the campaign to be sustained while inviting other private sector players to partner with the FRSC to achieve its objectives.
“We appreciate BSG’s effort in ensuring that our quest for the safety of Nigerians is of utmost priority. The donation of breathalysers will go a long way in checkmating drink-driving on our roads”, he concluded.
