FCTA Commences Strict Traffic Enforcement on Airport Road

By: Wisdom Acka

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced intensive and strict enforcement of traffic regulations along the Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua Expressway (Airport Road).

Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) Coordinator, Shuaibu Umar, while declaring the exercise open on Monday, warned that anyone caught driving against traffic would not only be made to go back, but would be arrested and the vehicle impounded.

He warned uniform personnel to desist from violating the traffic, as the enforcement against the violation was not a respecter of rank.

His words: “We are aware that most of these violations are committed by people in uniform. So no matter your rank, enforcement against the violation is not a respecter of rank. We will make sure that we show example. If you are a man in uniform show example to people that are not in uniform. So anybody, no matter how highly placed, must respect our regulations.”

“Henceforth, anybody that is making the Airport Road unsafe and unclean, is going to be arrested. From now on, this exercise is going to be continuous. The officers in charge of this enforcement, we count on you. We need your support, in order to make it work”, he said.

The AMMC boss added that no vehicle was allowed to park or ply on undesignated area, along the Expressway hence passengers should only flag a vehicle to pick him or her in areas designated for such.

He said: “We engaged the stakeholders, which are transport operators along this road. We called them, and we have all agreed that this assignment is important in order to make sure that sanity is restored.”

“Whatever image you see on Abuja Airport Road is the image of Nigeria. If the traffic along the Airport Road is free, Nigeria traffic is free; and if the Airport Road is clean, Nigeria is clean. So we must make sure that it is clean and free always, in order to have a very good image of our country”, he emphasized.

Umar explained that traffic was heavy on the Expressway because it conveys traffic from the north and south along Kaduna-Lokoja expressway, making it play multiple roles.

On his part, Deputy National President, Road Transport Employers Union, Abubakar Sadiq said the exercise was a welcome development; saying that he and his men were ready to cooperate to make sure that the exercise was successful.