Transporters ask FCTA to remove containers, abandoned vehicles from motor parks

The two major transport unions in the country have appealed to government at all levels to put machinery in motion for the safety of lives and property of citizens in motor parks.
The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) made the call yesterday in Abuja.
They suggested that containers and abandoned vehicles should be evacuated from the various parks to enhance security measures being taken.
The unions told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that many of such containers and vehicles were security risk to citizens.

The FCT Chairman, RTEAN, Mr Alabi Olorunju, said: “We have asked the hawkers and the mechanics in our park at Jabi to quit and equally remove their belongings and cupboards.
“We want to be very strict on the activities in the park by taking record of vehicles that are going in and out of the parks for safety.”
He urged the management of the various parks, including passengers, to be more vigilant.
Also, the Secretary, NURTW Mass Transit Nigeria Ltd, Mr Lawrence Fadipe,said the union was partnering the security personnel to enhance security in the parks across the country.
Fadipe, who is also the Chairman, NURTW Jabi Park Town Services, said the union had met with the police to discuss ways of improving the security in the various parks.

He said: “There is a police unit already in the park, but we are meeting with them to intensify their operation for safe transportation.
“Right now there is a serious check of vehicles entering and leaving the parks including the passengers.”
Meanwhile, drivers in the FCT have expressed shock over the recent bomb blast and called for installation of of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) to beef up security.
Joseph Abraham, an FCT driver, said in order to avert further damage, CCTV cameras should be installed in the various parks to monitor activities.

“CCTV is not only needed in the high places, rather it will be more useful in the public places where commoners usually converge,’’ he said.
Mr Taiwo Aregbeshola, a taxi driver in the FCT, urged government to be straightforward in policy making to avoid problem.
Aregbeshola said: “If government had considered the people’s affair before banning the small buses, they ought to have provided many parks for the people to utilise.
“Nyanya, Abuja Park is the only place people in that axis can get high capacity buses to town, so it will be overcrowded.
“However, the population will be too much and anything that happens there tends to be disastrous.”