By Stanley Onyekwere
In a bid to sustain the reinforced fight against the proliferation of illegal motor parks and unpainted taxis in Abuja, especially within the Federal Capital City (FCC), the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant agencies have scaled up strategic stakeholder engagement with taxi operators across notorious spots in the city.
To this end, officials of DRTS of the FCT Administration along with FRSC operatives accompanied by a joint team of security personnel yesterday, visited and sensitised hundreds of transport operators within clusters of illegal motor parks around Federal Secretariat, Finance, Jabi, Lifecamp, Airport road, Berger Roundabout, Mabushi and Bannex Junctions respectively.
Also, they engaged operators of such illegal parks around Area 1 Roundabout, Area 3 Junction, Apo Legislative Bridge, Roundabout, along the corridors of the busy Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway, as well as opposite Post Office in Area 10, all in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
It was gathered that, this initiative aimed at intensifying awareness on the policy of government in respect of operations of parks in the FCC particularly the city centre, came in the wake of the recent observation from the Federal House of Representatives about the proliferation of illegal motor parks and unpainted taxis operating on illegal locations in the city centre.
According to the Acting Secretariat, FCT Transportation Secretariat, Rahab Didan, after the aggressive engagement and sensitisation drive, the government will have to clampdown on the illegal parks operators, and probably make arrest, so as to discourage them from the menace.
She said: “We have had some experiences if people picking up and dropping as well as operating garages and parks that are not approved.
“We want to let the public know that there are designated 49 number of parks approved by the FCT Transportation Secretariat to operate within the city centre. So the commuters are encouraged to make use of these approved parks rather using the illegal ones that are causing problems on the roads.”
Commenting on the duration of the sensitisation exercise, she explains: “It is been on going with the stakeholders, as it is an ongoing process. So it could take two weeks or more, but it will still be repeated. There is no end to the committment of the government towards making public know about its policies.
“If there is cooperation and understanding, we will go along, otherwise we will keep informing people about the policies of government.”
Similarly, Director of DRTS, Dr. Abdul-Lateef Bello, reiterated that FCT is a work in progress, and in its transportation master plan there was no provision for garage, as what that was envisaged is a transportation centre, where all transporters will converged and disperse.
Bello noted what FCT have at the moment are Taxi Ranks, which are mere close-gap measures as they are supposed to serve as temporary parks, where commuters can patronise, but unfortunately some of them are not in good condition, and people have refused to patronise them.
He added that the transporters and managers of transportation in the FCT have not really helped matters by contributing in any measure, to ensure that the commuters use the taxi ranks.
“We have had series of engagements with the managers and operatives of taxis in the FCC. From all indication, we have been doing the best that we can to ensure that they all cooperate with us, but they always see enforcers as people that sit on their necks.
“FCC cannot operate this way, as there has to be sanity, safety and security. The issue of one chance can only be curbed is people agree to align with the existing transportation ranks provided, so that we take note of people who are picking people from the ranks.
“Now, we have succeeded in reorganising transportation ranks in Area 1, both the intra and intercity are functional as there is sanity.
“We have done that of Julius Berger bridge and we are doing same in other places, although we might be slow, but the process is ongoing as we will continue to the best we can do, in synergy with every other stakeholders – the Road Safety Corps, Polie and Civil Defense to ensure that we clean the city.
On his part, FCT Sector Commander, of FRSC, Corps Commander Chorie Muta’a, noted that the FRSC in collaboration with the DRTS and other relevant agencies had been enforcing the policy against operations of illegal parks, even before the observation of the lawmakers.
Muta’a however, noted that the level of enforcement has not been massive as done in synergy with all stakeholders, because, it is done by isolated patrol teams.
“We are out together with the VIO, Civil Defense and Police to the enforcement. So, we are all together in this, and the idea is to ensure that we provide safe passage for all motorists in Abuja.
“We know that the transportation ranks may not be sufficient for now, but it doesn’t give room for people to do illegal things, because it is going to create problems for us.
“So we we won’t seat and watch such things happen, so we came together in collaboration to ensure that we have a bigger enforcement, and we are going to be consistent with it, until we rid the city of illegal motor parks,” he stressed.
Reacting to the development, Ahmed Saheed, Chairman, Lifecamp Keke Napep Operators, opposite Kado fish market, who decried the continued operations of some transporters in undesignated areas in the city, however called for approval of more routes for their operations in the city, in order to match the increasing influx of people in the commercial commuting business.
While commending the government for ensuring the intensive engagement of Keke Operators and other stakeholders in the sector, he assured that they are committed to respecting the extant traffic regulation guiding their operations in the city.
Also, Tope Akintade , a member, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and one of leaders at Area 3 Motor Park, noted that the sensitisation is a good development, as it is geared towards sanitising the city, which drivers are already cooperating with the government to make it a reality.
He however appealed for the extension of the Area 3 transportation rank, so as to discourage people from operating outside the park.
“The people who are loading outside the park, is not their wish to do so, because the government should come and extend the existing park for us to accommodate more people. That is what we are begging the government to do,” he stressed.
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