FCTA moves to curtail incessant road crashes
Incessant road accidents in the Federal Capital City (FCT) may soon be a thing of the past as the new administration may have concluded plans to introduce a computerised vehicle inspection mechanism to aid the dream.
The new innovation, is for the sole aim of identifying vehicles not road-worthy and also incapable of gaining public acceptability. This much was disclosed by Managing director, CEO of temple resources Nigeria Limited, owners of the device, Mr. Segun Obayando.
He said that the grant of full integration of Computerised Vehicle
Inspection on the FCT DRTS EVREG platform came as a succour for the
sustainability of the safety project as well as the commitment of the
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to eradicate crashes on FCT
Roads.
According to Obayando, “The incidence of full integration culminated in the resolve to enhance capacity in every sphere of our activity This fact has thus lead to re-strategising, re-structuring and employment of different expertise, technical know-how in an attempt to actualizing and or bringing to fulfillment the task ahead”
He further stated that one of the major tasks before us was the imperative to enlighten the public and get them acquainted with the new safety innovation of vehicle inspection.
“We decided to engage in mass publicity and awareness campaign to
educate the entire FCT residents on the legitimacy, legality,
rudiments, rationale, justification and benefits of vehicle inspection
as well as having a safe road.
On the strategies adopted in carrying out sensitisation programme of the scheme, he said that his office was and still engage in collaborations the print media, broadcast media, social media as well as intrapersonal mass awareness campaign.
He stressed that the aim of this awareness is to convey the necessary information about vehicle inspection to the set of people it affects directly and to a large extent those with the intentions to own vehicle afterwards.
He continued, “This in effect targets drivers, vehicle owners, commuters, travelers and so on.”
The mobile mass awareness campaign consists of highly trained multi
lingua personnel capable of speaking English, French, Hausa, Gbagi,
Yoruba, Nupe and the Igbo languages respectively. The Team is
aggressively touring the entire FCT, bringing information’s about
vehicle inspection to the door step of all and sundry”
In further clarifications, Obayando noted that efforts have been made to form
a modus operandi for the mobile mass awareness campaign team which is
‘one on one’ engagement as well as collective address/ information
dissemination system.
“With the module and in order to archive the set objectives, motor parks all over the Federal Capital Territory. Ranging from trailer parks, Tanker parks, truck parks, tipper garages all over the FCT.
Still drawing from the backdrop of the task to get vehicles to go through inspection, the mass awareness has also as a matter of
necessity gone to long journey bus parks ranging from one
transportation company to the other in the capital territory. All
motor parks in Abuja have been informed and enlightened about
inspection.
Also in his words, “the media was meant to take in into records that
the exercise has not left out parastatals, ministries, schools, banks,
hotels, agencies, hospitals, private and government alike. At these
locations, the mass awareness is done on appointments. The inspection
centres usually write letters for audience, visits these offices to
arrange convenient dates with them. This he said has influenced a
better turn out.
“At different locations, the awareness is done in Pidgin English,
Hausa language, Yoruba and Igbo languages depending on the kind of
people that dominate the vicinity at the given time. There are
officers therefore to handle the campaign at different locations
simply for this information to be evenly disseminated.
While commending the efforts of the Minister of the Federal capital
territory Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello and the Permanent Secretary of
the FCT Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, Mr. Segun Obayando was confident that
the proffer of of solutions by the administration, on the awareness
strategy has led to high turnout at the inspection centres.
He said, “`the inspection centres have been extremely busy since the
commencement of our mass awareness campaign.
Confirming this, he said that the vehicle inspection’s operations
statistics for the period under review, figures shows that
between the months of July and August, that the figure has been on the
increase, thus July 2016, the number of tested vehicles rose to 5458.
those that passed the test stood at 1160, while those that failed also
stood at the amount of 1298 vehicles.
At the month of August, he said that all tested vehicles amount to
5034, with passed ones stands at the figure of 2209 and failed ones at
the amount of 2825. This record he revealed will continue to emerge to
help phase out unworthy vehicles along Abuja and Nigerian roads.
