Following a growing concern over the increasing traffic gridlock within Abuja City Centre due to proliferation of illegal taxi parks, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, on Thursday commenced a massive cracking down on operators of such parks.
The Task Force combing through the illegal parks located in Garki Areas 1, 8 and 10, Apo Bridge, impounded over 50 vehicles.
The Director, Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) Dr. Abdulateef Bello said the impounded vehicles violated several traffic rules, besides being parked at various unapproved parks, including improper registration.
He noted that the exercise would be a routine duty of the team, as there was need to ensure sustainability, while the administration had put measures to close all the illegal parks.
According to him, the rickety vehicles will be put off the road, and owners of the impounded vehicles would be made to comply with all requirements of the law, before they could get them back.
Bello while pledging to sustain the exercise, he also assured that officers who were injured by hoodlums in previous operations would be adequately compensated.
Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah said FCT Minister has resolved to deal with all sectoral infractions, added that the Task Force will not stop its operations, until sanity is restore completely.
Attah who has been heading the operations for City Cleaning, noted that addressing the traffic issues deserved a special attention from the team, because FCT residents deserve a relief from stress.
He further explained that addressing troubling traffic issues within the city centre, was something the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello craves for dearly and has made commitment to achieve.
Attah said, “What we are seeing today is the enormity of the complexity of the challenges. We have been doing work on all departments, today we are focusing on traffic issues.
“It is getting more complex, but we are not been deterred at all. We must not allow this city to degenerate to a point where we cannot do what is right. Today many vehicles and motorcycles have been impounded”.
Dominica Nwabufo
