- Â Impounds 17,112 vehicles in 2017
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Transport Secretariat of the FCT Administration has launched Operation Giraffe to make the road traffic management in the Territory efficient.
The disclosure was made by the Secretary of the Transport Secretariat, Kayode Opeifa at a media parley.
Opeifa said last year 17,112 vehicles were impounded out of the almost 500,000 vehicles on FCT road.
He said the impounded vehicles constituted about 3.4 per cent of the total vehicles on the road, adding most of them were those with plate numbers registered outside the territory.
He added that 1,675 motorcycles were also impounded in 2017 for coming to the restricted zones.
“As I speak to you Operation Giraffe has commenced and there will be many more VIO stop and check to make sure these vehicles have genuine particulars,’’ Opeifa said.
According to the transport secretary, 75,000 vehicles were inspected at the computerised vehicle centre to determine their road worthiness. The secretariat also processed 51,356 driver licenses and registered 22,545 vehicles.
He said the number of vehicles that come for documentation was in the region of 200,000, saying those were the people Operation Giraffe would go after.
Opeifa also said the secretariat had developed a software that allows VIO officers, making use of mobile phones, determine the status and validity of their vehicles, adding they also developed a machine that allows motorists to pay right on the road for traffic offence after they are charged.
He said the FCTA aims to ensure that all the 179 traffic lights in the territory, the largest in the country, are working. Currently, only 93 of the lights installed at various intersections in the city are working, while works are gathering pace to install additional 24 traffic lights.
