By ABUBAKAR YUNUS,Abuja
The Arewa Youths for Peace and Security has appealed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to restore officers of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services to Abuja roads to tackle the growing influx of rickety vehicles within the city centre.
The group said the return of DRTS personnel, backed by proper training and reorientation, would strengthen traffic management and improve road safety across the nation’s capital.
The group’s Head of Investigation, Zainab Umar, made the appeal in Abuja during an appraisal of the infrastructural achievements recorded by the FCT Minister.
She commended Wike for transforming the FCT through massive infrastructure development but urged him to extend the same attention to traffic management.
According to her, the increasing number of unroadworthy vehicles operating within the city has become a major nuisance despite the activities of the Ministerial Task Force.
She said, “Honourable Minister, you have achieved a lot in the area of infrastructural facelift in the FCT since assuming office, but you also need to diversify into traffic management.
“As it stands, the uncontrollable influx of rickety vehicles constitutes a serious menace in the FCT city centre.”
Umar noted that although the Ministerial Task Force comprising DRTS, the police, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was operational, shortage of personnel, logistics and operational vehicles had limited its effectiveness.
She therefore urged the FCT Administration to take the necessary administrative, legal and legislative steps to return DRTS officers to the roads after proper induction and training on public engagement.
While acknowledging that the ban on DRTS officers followed breaches of operational rules by some personnel, she argued that the misconduct of a few should not overshadow the agency’s importance.
“We accept that the breach of rules of engagement by some unruly DRTS officers led to their ban by the court, but we cannot erase the important role they play in traffic management. No security agency is free of bad eggs. We believe you can do it, Honourable Minister,” she added.