By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reclaimed its taxi rank and terminals from operators over failure to meet up with the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Mandate Secretary, Transportation Secretariat, FCTA, Mr Ubokutom Nyah, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting with terminals and taxi ranks managers in Abuja, yesterday.
He said having failed all the terms and conditions of their engagement, the FCTA was left with no option but to terminate their engagement.
Nyah directed them to hand over the ranks to the Administration within three months beginning from November.
He decried the infiltration of illegal motor parks within the city and expressed the readiness of the Administration to provide the capital city with befitting taxi ranks and terminals.
The secretary said a visit to the taxi ranks, terminals and illegal motor parks in the city has provided him with firsthand information on the ugly state of the facilities.
According to him, Abuja, being the federal capital city deserves better terminals and taxi ranks, adding that the state of the terminals, taxi ranks and illegal motor parks in the city attracts all kinds of criminal elements.
“We must rid Abuja of all these.
“I have gone round the taxi ranks, and of all the places I visited, not one is worthy to be called even a village motor park.”
The mandate secretary explained that the action was not meant to punish them but to reposition the sector, bring new terms of engagement and provide the federal capital with modern taxi ranks and terminals.
This, according to him, will increase the number of the terminals and ranks where necessary, and improve the revenue profile for the Administration.
He, however, said that the Administration would still consider the operators that have the capacity to develop the taxi ranks and terminals in line with the new vision.
Nyah said that the FCTA has concluded plans to rehabilitate and revamp taxi rans and terminals to a standard befitting the federal capital.
He said that the measure was part of efforts to rid Abuja of illegal motor parks and the criminalities associated with them.
Responding, the Operator of Jahi Taxi Rank, Mr Adebisi Lawal, commended the Administration’s move to modernise the taxi ranks and terminals.
Lawal appealed to the Administration to give due consideration to the current operators in the choice of new developers.
