Federal government has resolved to repeal the 62-year-old Fire Service Act Cap F29, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1963.
In its stead, the government has approved the enactment of the Federal Fire and Rescue Service Establishment Act 2022, to bring into currency the operations and professionalism of the Federal Fire Service to deliver quality services to Nigerians.
The minister of interior, Dr. Olubumi Tunji-ojo, announced the move yesterday at the groundbreaking of the remodeling and upgrading of the National Fire Academy, located in Sheda, Abuja.
The event was part of activities to mark President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year in office.
Tunjo-Ojo said current events had overtaken the relevance of the 1963 Act, stressing that the job of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) in the security architecture of nations had expanded beyond firefighting to rescue operations and security duties.
The minister, who pledged that the Fire Service would not be relegated again because the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration takes rescue of emergency victims seriously on grounds of their constitutional rights.
He said, “For this reason, the government is putting in a lot of resources to remodel the academy to place it as an exporter of rescue mission knowledge in Africa.
The scope of fire service all over the world in 2024 is different from what it was in 1963 and we cannot continue to be held down to the apron of the past when we have an opportunity to create a future that we will all be proud of,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo described what they operate with at present as obsolete, said President Tinubu would stop at nothing to sacrifice the needed resources to rewrite the history of the country’s Fire Service.
The minister added that the government was looking at involving the private sector in the firefighting industry to achieve a hundred per cent assurance of safety for the over 200 million Nigerians.
He said, “The time to rewrite the history of the Fire Service is not tomorrow but now. Mr. President takes Fire and Rescue Service very important. He wants results and efficiency. That is why he has released several motivational incentives to boost your productivity.
“For this reason, his government is putting in a lot of resources into this remodelling and upgrading vision of the National Fire Academy. Let me also remind you that having timelines of deliveries is very key. It’s not enough to have fantastic ideas but seeing them through is what matters.
“Our aim is to have at least six sophisticated fire academies in each of the geopolitical zones. Hence, this national space must become a train-the- trainers’ venue.
In his keynote address, the controller-general of Federal Fire Service, Engr. Jaji Abdulganiyu, said the federal government is set to repeal the 1963 Fire Service Act because current events had overtaken its usefulness.
Abdulganiyu commended the federal government over its decision to remodel the National Fire Academy (NFA).
He said the academy has various props ranging from aeroplane, automobile, confined space, firehouse – one of the most recent props acquired by the and many others.
He described it as a modern, world-class, automated pre-engineered props for simulation of all classes of fires, extinguishment, search and rescues, adding that they also have drill tower, hydrants for practical training purposes.
Abdulganiyu, who highlighted the achievements of the academy under his watch, said the trainees from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and other paramilitary agencies had and are still patronising the NFA.
“We’ve received several requests for collaboration and training both within and outside Nigeria. Notably was the request from the Gambian authorities expressing the need to have Nigeria’s assistance in building the capacity of his country’s security agencies in firefighting, protection and rescue,” he added.
