No breathing space for One-Chance operators in Abuja – FCTA warns

By Stanley  Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has declared that it will not allow one-chance operators tormenting Abuja residents especially commuting public through their nefarious activities, to breathe until they leave the Territory.

To this end, FCTA said as part of the the clean up Abuja drive, it will  intensify its clamp down on illegal motor parks that give motivation to one-chance activities in the nation’s capital.

The secretary, Command and Control Centre of the FCTA, Mr. Peter Olumuji, who made this assertion during a joint city clean up exercise, at the weekend,  the exercise had been on throughout the week, as they realized that once they clamp down on illegal parks, the chances of the one-chance operators will reduce.

Olumuji disclosed that most of the one-chance activities are being done through  unpainted taxis operating in illegal parks, because the enforcement team apprehend a lot of them during the operation.

He said: “We want to give one last word to one-chance operators in the FCT, that’s the few once remaining that this operation is a sustained and continuous one, as we will not allow you to breathe until you leave the FCT.

“Again to the one-chance operators this exercise is a sustained one, even as the commissioner of the  police FCT , CP Garba and heads of other sister agencies have been doing their own part.

“And once we don’t allow them to breathe, that means we will always continue to clam down on them and anyone that is apprehended or caught will be persecuted, in accordance to the law of the land.”

He adds: “Members of the public should not board unpainted taxis, because when you do, that is how you can fall victim of one-chance activity, we have designated car parks that commercial vehicles are situated, make sure you go and patronise them.”

Similarly, Head of operations, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS),  Deborah Osho, disclosed  over thirty (30) vehicles were apprehended during the exercise, for violating traffic rules.

She explained that most of the vehicles  impounded were caught parked illegally along the road corridors, while a few were rickety vehicles within the city center.

“So, we have decided to include Saturdays as our enforcement day also to clean up the city and that is what we are doing right now.

“Everyone should obey the law, we have places designated for parking and they should do that. Abuja is not a lawless state where everything goes, we must always respect the law especially traffic rules, and that is why you should park where you are asked to park and don’t create unnecessary illegal parks in the city”, she stressed.

Reacting to development, Aminu Usman, a resident of FCT, who said he had fallen victim to  one chance syndicate activities when he boarded a vehicle along the road, as he wasn’t familiar with the city.

Usman while commending the FCTA for the clamp down on illegal parks, said the moment commuters board vehicles at the designated car parks, and something goes wrong, they can actually go back, and report what they have experienced.

According to him: “I feel it is a good initiative, because I have a friend who boarded a bus from Gwarimpa to AYA and along the way, the vehicle parked and he was robbed of his belongings.

“I would that anyone who wants to board a vehicle, should do that in the designated car parks, so as to not fall victim of one-chance operators.”