FCTA mulls policy formulation, implementation to address traffic management

By Ukpono Ukpong
As parts of efforts to ensure effective regulation of road traffic management, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has identified the need for policy formulation and implementation to address growing concerns.
The Director, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) also known as Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIO) Dr. Abdulateef Bello, made this known in Abuja, during in an interview with newsmen immediately after a visit to some of the VIO Commands where the impounded Vehicles, Tricycles and Motorcycles were been kept.
He disclosed that DRTS is working with the Transportation Secretariat who are in charge of policy formulation and implementation to actualise the proposed review.
“The Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike on assumption of office, actually observed some high level of nuisances in various degrees in the city center and the entire territory and he has read his riot act that, the territory must be clean of all these within a specified period.
“We are aware that the city is a project and until when we have the mass transit in operation which will actually cater for numbers of people who need to leave the city to the surburbs and coming from the surburbs to work in the city, we will definitely continue to battle with a number of unregistered vehicles that are coming into the city because it is a function of demand and supply but I am sure, in no time all these will be a thing of the past.
“We are waiting for the authority to give access to the review of our transport regulation which was done late last year but of course all those offences have been reviewed and then their fines will be equally reviewed upwards. It is going to be weighing for those traffic offenders by the time they face mobile court, but i am sure it will serve as a deterrent.
“We are now extending our coverage to reach out to agencies who are fond of parking vehicles on the green verge and walkways. I think with the shortest time possible, given the new energy provided by the minister and the demonstration of the political way, of course we will raid the city from all manners of traffic offences within the shortest time possible.
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“Arising from that, a joint task team was constituted with all the security agencies involved to clean the city and for the fact that this is the aspects that concerns us, we actually supported the team with our own task force and a number of vehicles were removed from the city.”
Bello hinted that, over 149 vehicles, 100 tricycles and motorcycles have been impounded for various traffic offenses and are to face mobile court which has been happening since yesterday to answer for their offenses.
“As we know, this is something we have been doing overtime. It is always revolving around parking in unauthorized areas, driving against traffic unregistered unpainted and then operating an illegal taxi rank. So these are some of the offences which caused these vehicles to be removed.
“I always advise that it’s cheaper to be on the side of the law to obey simple rules and regulations because what we have done is to ask them to operate within registered and defined taxi ranks and not to pick indiscriminately from the road corridors.”