FCT Ministerial Task Team on Traffic has concluded plans to begin full enforcement of the ban on the operation of Tricycles (Keke NAPEP), on major Highways and the city centre in the territory.
Chairman of the team, Mr Ikharo Attah, made the disclosure at a sensitisation campaign held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Attah said that the exercise, in collaboration with the Department of Road Traffic Services, would not only restore sanity to the nation’s capital but would also help in the fight against traffic gridlock.
He debunked insinuations by some individuals that the order was designed to unleash hardship on both the operators of the Tricycles and residents of the FCT.
He explained that the ban was in line with the transportation master plan of the city, which stipulated that the operations of all means of transportation should be regulated and controlled.
The task team chairman also said that the ban was meant to enhance the safety of the operators, as well as that of the passengers, because they would no longer be allowed to move on Highways.
According to him, the Abuja project will not succeed if laws and regulations that govern operations of businesses are not enforced and obeyed.
“What the Minister is asking the operators of Keke Napep is just to restrict themselves to areas designated for them to operate, as they cannot be everywhere in the city, particularly on major highways and the Central Area.
“The deployment of high capacity buses from the fleets of Abuja Urban Mass Transport will cushion the effects of the ban,’’ Attah said.
On his part, the Director, Department of Road Traffic Services, Malam Wadata Bodinga, said that the FCT administration had decided to phase out all rickety vehicles, especially those that failed the roadworthiness test.
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Bodinga, however, said about 95 per cent of vehicles in Abuja would not pass the roadworthiness test.
He also said the grace period given to affected taxi operators had elapsed, hence the implementation of the ministerial order.
He warned that the enforcement, which would commence on Nov. 13, would be total; and that defaulters would be arrested and their vehicles impounded.
“We have cleared our carport to accommodate all impounded vehicles and Tricycles. We urge all who want to operate in the FCT to abide by the rules and regulations,’’ Bodinga said.
(NAN)
