FCT Transport secretariat seeks collaboration with FRSC

The newly appointed Secretary Transportation Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, in an effort to re-position transportation model, has solicited for closer collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in tackling various traffic challenges in the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking when he paid a working visit to the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, recently, Opeifa said the visit which was at the instance of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello, was to further cement the existing bridge of cooperation between the Commission and the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

He expressed the FCT Minister’s appreciation for the synergy that exist between the two Agencies and said the Administration wanted to take advantage of the Commission’s experiences in managing the intractable traffic challenges in the Territory especially during the peak hours.

The Secretary observed the prevalence of rickety vehicles on FCT roads and said the Administration would take advantage of the three Computerised Vehicle Testing Centres in Gwagwalada, Kugbo and Outer Northern Express way (ONEX) to ascertain the road worthiness of vehicles that ply FCT roads and drive out of the city those that fail the test.

He assured the Corps Marshall that more testing centres would soon be opened in various parts of the territory to satisfy the demands from the residents and make Abuja roads the safest in the country.

On the pioneering efforts of the FRSC in standardising driver’s licence in Nigeria, Opeifa commended the collaboration that exists between the Administration and the Commission over the past six years and called for harmonisation of any grey areas between the two agencies.

Describing driver’s Licence as the ‘most authentic Nigerian document’ in the hands of Nigerians today, he called for the strengthening of the issuance process and stated that efforts are being made to make Abuja the leading driver’s licence centre in Nigeria.

He, however, informed the Corps Marshall of his drive to make a positive change in the territory’s traffic challenges within three months and solicited for cooperation of the officers of the Corps with the Directorate of Road Traffic Officers to achieve the target.

Responding, the Corps Marshall, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, congratulated Comrade Opeifa on his appointment as the new Secretary of Transportation Secretariat, urging him to replicate the successes he recorded in Lagos State where he served as Commissioner of Transport for four years and Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Transport for four years.

Oyeyemi noted that the appointment of Opeifa to Transportation Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration came at a time when the Transportation sector of the territory needed the services of a tested hand to chart a new direction for the sector and urged him to bring his wealth of experience to bear on his new assignment.

He urged the Secretary to look into the issue of pedestrian bridge usage as many pedestrians in the city still prefer to dash across the roads even where the facilities are available, thereby risking their lives.

He also spoke on traffic light violators, road worthiness of many vehicles plying the roads, provision of road signage and signals, abuse of purpose clauses for the use of vehicles, abuse of learner’s permit and encouragement of non-motorised transportation in the territory.

The Corps Marshall reminded the Secretary that the responsibility of regulating and certifying driving schools in the country have been ceded to states and urged the Transportation Secretariat to take particular notice of learners who carry passengers while flagging the learner’s permit barge.

He also called for the establishment of testing and driving ranges in the territory for proper testing of drivers before they are certified.

He assured of his Commission’s readiness to synergise with the FCT Administration to tackle the numerous traffic challenges in the territory and collaborate with the Secretary to ensure that remarkable difference is made within three months.