Team on traffic decongestion on Abuja-Nasarawa road blames motorists, security personnel; gets Bello’s praise

The Task Team set up by the Minister, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, on traffic decongestion along AYA/Nyanya road has blamed the excesses of road users and traders for the recurring congestion problem adding that the planned road expansion there would amount to nothing if their excesses are not dealt with.

According to the head of the team, Mr Ikharo Attah, one of such excesses was the unwillingness of uniformed personnel to obey traffic rules and comply with road traffic directives.

He also said that many drivers lacked lane discipline and exhibited arrogance while driving with little consideration for the rights of other road users. He also explained that traffic clogging at the Nasarawa State axis of the road made it difficult for the team to manage traffic.

Attah emphasized that there was a need to sustain efforts to check the excesses of motorists, as even the current expansion work by the Federal Government on that road will not make a difference if this was not done.

He reiterated that the Federal Road Safety Corpd (FRSC) should be involved in the simultaneous control of traffic in Nasarawa State and the FCT to ease the traffice situation.

Recommendations made by the Team include a total stoppage of roadside trading, concerted enlightenment campaign for uniformed personnel and immediate fixing of potholes along the road that hinder the free flow of traffic.

The Special Ministerial Task Team, going by a statement from the Minister’s office, was commended by the minister for delivering on its mandate of decongesting traffic on that road axis within a very short time frame. His commendation came when he received the interim report of the activities of the team in his office

Speaking further, he said that his conviction that the affairs of Nigeria can be changed for the better has been buttressed by the zeal and dedication the Task Team put into the assignment and the result it achieved in record time.

He stressed that the solutions to the problems of managing the FCT are from within and these can be fixed with and by dedicated people who will put in their best and be committed to make the difference. He assured that all the recommendations made by the Task Team will be implemented.

In the words of the Minister, “The conviction of our dear President that if we all put in our best we can change this country, and this has been clearly demonstrated by your well-coordinated team. It shows you also that all the solutions to all our problems are actually within us, it’s just a matter of everybody being dedicated, putting in their best”.

He then advised that there was a need for coordinated and concerted efforts by all stakeholders for things to work. He continued “… one tree cannot make a forest and you cannot survive if you are just an island. So you have to relate with people around you, relate with relevant officers and at the end of the day if we all do that, Nigeria is going to be better”

Recall that the FCT Minister had inaugurated the Task Team two weeks ago with a mandate to clear the traffic gridlock and ensure free flow of traffic along the AYA/Nyanya road as part of measures by the Administration to ease the discomfort of motorists who ply that route on a daily basis.