FCTA and public transportation in Abuja

By Rogers  Edor Ochela

One noticeable effect of population explosion in the major cities of Nigeria is in the area of public transportation. It has become so bad that its fabric has been stretched to almost breaking point. So, for any administration to be taken serious, it must be courageous enough to tackle this menace headlong, which has all the potentials of positively affecting other sectors of the economy.

Before the relocation of the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja by late Murtala Ramat Mohammed administration, Lagos was virtually bursting at the seams from traffic congestion. And since the federal seat moved to Abuja, Nigerians and foreigners alike have watched with stupefaction as the ills that informed the relocation suddenly surfaced in Abuja with its negative effect on the city’s economy.
While past FCT Administrations could not muster the courage to tackle this ugly phenomenon, the incumbent administration of Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed in the last three years has been tackling same with appreciable results.
In Nigeria 90 percent of transportation of goods, services and people in the country takes place on roads; therefore roads are a critical to the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria.

It is this realization the incumbent FCTA’s decision to promulgated a new transport policy in 2013, leading to the banning of ‘Araba’ or ‘Danfo’ buses from plying major highways of the FCT. This created shortage in the number of commercial vehicles. To fill the yawning gap, over 700 high-capacity buses were procured by the administration and deployed to ply Nyanya-AYA-Eagle Square/Wuse Market; Giri Junction-Airport Road-City Centre; Zuba Junction through ONEX (Outer Northern Expressway) to city centre and Ring Road one Circulation connecting Wuse Market and Eagle Square.
The minister had emphasized that the buses would not only move people in large numbers, but reduce time spent in traffic gridlock and improve the economy of FCT, pointing out that it was in the overall interest of all residents and visitors to Abuja for the policy to succeed.
To strengthen this laudable policy, FCTA has gone ahead to procure 100 brand new Abuja Mass Transit Buses to be used by the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited, which was recently flagged-off with fanfare by Vice President Mohammed NamadiSambo.
In his address, the Minister, Bala Mohammed, thanked Sambo for continuously identifying with FCTA, noting the commissioning of the buses was a fulfilment of the pledge he made to FCT residents before the Vice President last year.
Mohammed reiterated that his administration would not relent in its effort to build and administer a Capital City in compliance with the Abuja Master Plan, via the establishment of an effective and enduring service-oriented administration that can respond to the needs and aspirations of all residents and stakeholders.

He said that these buses would assist in the realization of short time target of reducing travel time to 20 minutes and transport about 2 million commuters from all entrances into the city and from the city to most Satellite Towns by 2015.
The minister said AUMTCO, SURE-P and YutongHongkong Company made the delivery of these buses possible as FCTA made 50% payment on the buses, adding that the remaining 50% will be defrayed through the business plan and cash flow of AUMTCO over timeline of 2 years because Yutong Hongkong Company has given the FCTA a loan with a 3% interest rate.
In his welcome address, Managing Director, Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company, Mr. Abdulrazaq Oniyangi, thanked the FCT Minister for his consistent support to the company, promising to reciprocate by making the company live up to its billing by providing international standard services.

By and large, the administration’s consistent fidelity to the workability of its policy on transportation is highly commendable and worthy of emulation. In fact, the policy is loaded with a lot of goodies for the residents to wit: cheaper fares; passengers’ comfort; security; reliability of vehicle and reduction in environmental pollution; identification of transport operators and companies through biometrics data capturing; promotion of healthy competition among operators; reduction in traffic congestions, road accidents and transport-related crimes.

The policy is equally germane to attaining cost effectiveness through greater efficiency and service delivery; building of new driving culture and attitudinal change; creation of wealth, employment and ensuring smoother movement of goods and services. Above all, it will help replace the bedlam that has become the lot of Abuja roads with sanity.
With all these efforts geared towards repositioning Abuja’s public transportation system, the administration of Bala Mohammed deserves applause and support to further give it the necessary fillip to ensure the policy serves the interest of residents Abuja residents.

Ochela, former editor of Abuja Today and Peoples Power newspapers, wrote from Abuja. Email: [email protected]