From Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Special Ministerial Task Team to ease vehicular traffic along AYA-Nyanya section of Abuja-Keffi Road says the disregard of uniformed personnel for traffic rules is one of the reasons for the perennial traffic gridlock on the major road that connects 10 states to the FCT.
The indictment was contained in the interim report on traffic decongestion which the Task Team submitted to the Minister of FCT Malam Muhammad Musa Bello over the weekend.
The Chairman of the Task Team, Ikharo Attah, noted that apart from the violation of road traffic directives by security personnel, many drivers lacked lane discipline and exhibited arrogance while driving with little consideration for the rights of other road users.
He said there was a need to sustain efforts to check the excesses of motorists, saying the current expansion work by the Federal Government on that road will not make a difference if this was not done.
Attah identified traffic clogging at the Nasarawa State axis of the road, while also calling for the Federal Road Safety (FRSC) to be involved in the simultaneous control of traffic in Nasarawa State and the FCT.
He recommended concerted enlightenment campaign for uniformed personnel, immediate fixing of potholes along the road that hinder the free flow of traffic and total stoppage of roadside trading,
The road is an important gateway that links the FCT to Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Kaduna, Enugu, Taraba, Bauchi and Gombe States.
The Task Team was constituted two weeks ago with a mandate to clear the traffic gridlock and ensure free flow of traffic along the AYA/Nyanya axis of the road as part of measures by the Administration to ease the discomfort of motorists who ply that route on a daily basis.
The minister commended the Task Team for delivering on its mandate of decongesting traffic on the road within a very short time frame. He assured that all the recommendations made by the Task Team will be implemented.
“The conviction of our dear President that if we all put in our best we can change this country, and this has been clearly demonstrated by your well-coordinated team. It shows you also that all the solutions to all our problems are actually within us, it’s just a matter of everybody being dedicated, putting in their best,” Bello said.
