The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said it would soon begin the recertification of all taxis as well as ride-hailing services like Uber and Bolt.
It said this is in a bid to stem the tide of taxi robberies otherwise known as ‘one Chance’ in Nigeria’s federal capital.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike disclosed this at a media interface in Abuja.
Often posing as taxi operators, armed robbers and ‘itinerant kidnappers’ use taxis to abduct passengers, rob them and sometimes kill them. The miscreants had on a few occasions reportedly held their victims for hours, demanding ransoms from their relatives.
Wike said what is important is to make sure that proactive steps are taken against their occurrences or that when they do occur, the perpetrators are either arrested or the people protected.
He said; “On one chance, remember there was a time it was an issue in this city. We were able to bring it down.
“What we are trying to do now which we did not do in December but which we think we can achieve by this February is we are not going to allow vehicles without FCT colours, that is, not registered by the FCTA to operate commercially. In that way, you know the driver is approved and his vehicle is approved by the FCTA so that as a passenger you don’t take the risk of going to board a vehicle that you don’t even know.”
Asked whether the policy would apply to ride-hailing services like Uber and Bolt, the minister said; “They would have to be registered too.
“It tells you who the drivers are. We need to certify them. We need to profile them using the security agencies. This is a city. If we don’t have rules, it will be a problem.”
The minister who expressed surprise that a world-class capital city like Abuja does not have a single loading terminal, said that this year, he hopes to establish at least three such terminals.
“I am surprised to note that a city like this does not have a loading terminal that takes charge of that. You know the drivers and vehicles that you are boarding. But now everybody is just on the road.
“What we are trying to do by the grace of God in this fiscal year is to start with three terminals so that we know the buses and taxis from such terminals. Nobody would take the risk of going to the road to wait for taxis. If you do that, we will be able to reduce crime.
“I am not saying that with the provision of all these, you won’t have one or two crimes. No, it is not possible to eliminate crimes but you can reduce it drastically,” he stated.
