Lagos State Government, has appointed Margret Adeseye as the Acting Director of Lagos State Fire Service.

Adeseye becomes the first female fire officer to be appointed into the position of acting director of the organisation established about thirty-seven years ago.

The appointment followed the retirement of the director, Rasaki Musibau and thirty other senior officers who were officially pulled out from the service after they had put in thirty-five years.

Adeseye in her address during the ceremony held at the fire service headquarters, Alausa in Ikeja commended the retired director for his good leadership.

She described his `Squad 11’ of the service as a team that recorded laudable achievements.

The acting director said those they were leaving behind were happy because the retirees had assured them of their readiness to be available anytime they were called upon.

The director urged those still in service to continue to strive for excellence despite the numerous challenges.

She said with hard work and perseverance, success would surely come their ways.

The retiring director, Rasaki Musibau, in his remarks described the fifteen months he was head of the Lagos State Fire Service as short but a remarkable period with purposeful leadership.

Musibau appreciated God for granting him the grace to serve the state for thirty-five years, saying he was fortunate to have worked with brilliant and dedicated senior and junior officers while in service.

He said all those he worked with had impacted positively on his career and advised those still in service to continue in that spirit, saying one of his achievements as director was the installation of Radio Network Communication gadgets in seven sub-stations of the establishment.

Musibau said firemen could now communicate conveniently with each other from different parts of the state, appealing to the Lagos State Government to look into the welfare and training of the firemen by increasing their hazard allowance and improving their knowledge about the job through trainings.

He also called on the government to equip the service for maximum results, stressing that only a well-equipped service would be able to save lives and properties, advising the acting director to always be on the road whenever the service receives calls for emergencies, saying the job does not required sitting in the office.

Musibau, however, said his saddest day in the service was when he was kidnapped on April 6, 2019, which he described as an `unforgettable day’.

He thanked his family, colleagues and friends who paid the N5million ransom before his kidnappers released him.

Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, in his address congratulated the retirees for their meritorious services to the state and urged them to be good ambassadors of the state anywhere they go.

Muri-Okunola who spoke through his Personal Staff Officer, Ajibade Samson, said government was planning to employ more graduates to replace the retired and the retiring staff members.

Family members of the retirees, their friends as well as the staff of the Fire Service attended the ceremony.