By Eunice Orike
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced plans to begin a crackdown on illegal motor parks and roadside loading of passengers as its newly constructed bus terminals become fully operational.
The administration said the enforcement exercise is aimed at restoring order in the transport sector, improving commuter safety and tackling criminal activities associated with unregulated transport operations.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Transportation Secretariat, Chinedum Elechi, said all intercity and intra-city commercial transport operators would be required to operate from designated terminals across the territory.
He explained that buses travelling to destinations such as Kaduna, Aba, Lokoja, Owerri and Sokoto would depart only from the Mabushi and Kugbo bus terminals, while the Central Business District (CBD) terminal would serve as the hub for taxis, e-hailing vehicles and other intra-city transport services.
According to Elechi, the new arrangement is expected to significantly reduce incidents of “one chance” robberies, drug trafficking and other security threats by ensuring that transport operators are properly registered and profiled.
“At the root of many security challenges is transportation. The problem of ‘one chance’ and general insecurity will be greatly reduced when operators are profiled and made to operate from designated terminals,” he said.
He described the terminals as the first modern transport hubs built in the FCT, noting that they have the capacity to handle more than 2,000 passengers and are equipped with facilities such as organised car parks, shopping outlets, food courts, escalators and cinemas.
