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Abuja:
‘Kabukabu now regulated, not banned’
By Moses Akaigwe
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration has explained
its new policy on the use of private vehicles for commercial
commuter services in Abuja, saying that kabukabu as they are
popularly called, have not been banned. The authorities, however,
maintained that under the new arrangement, the operators are
required to meet some conditions before putting such vehicles
on road.
Speaking on the controversy that has trailed the recent pronouncement
by the FCT on the kabukabu operation in Abuja, the Secretary
of Transport, Engr Christopher Chigbo, said that the operators
have to first band themselves into a recognizable body, register
their vehicles at the appropriate quarters and paint them
accordingly (using the approved colour code for the FCT).
Chigbo, who was a lone guest on a recent phone-in network
programme of Radio Nigeria, Dateline Abuja, stressed the need
for the operators to be known and recognizable, stating that
for now, they are “faceless”, a situation which,
according to him, makes crime control difficult. He said that
some of the vehicles are now being used to perpetrate ‘one-chance’
robbery which hitherto was prevalent mainly in Lagos and rarely
in the federal capital.
“We are not phasing out kabukabu…it is a way of
identifying those involved. We are simply asking them to register
and paint their vehicles according to the Abuja colour code
… you get yourselves organized and operate according
to the regulations”, the FCT Secretary of Transport
said in response to questions (including that of a regular
caller, Andrew Ajayi) on why a ban was being imposed on private
vehicle operators.
The FCT’s policy received support from another regular
caller, Mazi Okoro Okoroafor, who called for a total clampdown
on private vehicles rendering commercial services, alleging
that the unpainted vehicles are now being used to dispossess
unwary passengers of their belongings “ in broad daylight”
by some of the operators.
Chigbo also reiterated the administration’s readiness
to work hand-in-glove with the private sector in its drive
towards the provision of efficient transportation in the area.
Drawing attention to the fact that those currently operating
the Green, Yellow and Red line buses are private investors,
he assured that such investors would always be involved in
the mass transit projects and cited the opening up of new
routes, like Utako-Kubwa, as examples of the much desired
public-private partnership.
Some of the contributors, including James Aneke, who usually
calls from Enugu, and Suraju Dahiru in Zaria, had canvassed
public-private collaboration as a model for the development
of transportation in the FCT, and called for the re-orientation
of the attitude of motorists in the area in order to bring
about sanity on the roads.
Also discussed was the issue of traffic lights which some
callers complained were always off anytime there was no electricity,
but Chigbo assured that the new and modern lights just installed
by the FCT are backed with UPS which enables them to remain
on long after power outage.
Responding to remarks by Ajayi and Solomon Obiagwu (who called
from Abuja) on the need for access road to food producting
areas, Chigbo disclosed that ensuring adequate transportation
linking the rural areas surrounding Abuja was part of the
original master-plan for the FCT. “I participated in
drawing up the rail master-plan”, he disclosed, saying
that ensuring easy link with the rural areas surrounding Abuja
and a reliable rail system were integrated into the original
plan for the FCT. He added, “I took part in drawing
the master- plan in 1978”, and, therefore, knows the
importance of that mode of transportation in a city with about
1.6 million people”.
According to him, until there is enough fund to implement
the rail plan, dedicated buses, which are currently sustaining
mass transportation in the city, will continue to receive
attention.
He, however, announced that the first phase of the rail project
to be implemented by Chinese experts, would soon commence.
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