Muhammad Bello, minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has unveiled the administration’s plan towards ending the perennial traffic gridlock along Abuja-Nyanya- Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi road, thereby enhancing the free flow of vehicles and reducing the man hour often lost by commuters and other road users on that road.
Bello expressed the commitment while inaugurating a Ministerial Task Force to decongest traffic along the Abuja-Nyanya- Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi road of the Territory as well as evacuate accumulated refuse from that area.
Addressing the Task Force, the Minister declared that it is unacceptable that a dual carriageway well constructed to the highest engineering standards to cater for the residents of that axis has become a long stretch of refuse dump.
“For the first time in my life, I have seen a place inhabited by very vibrant people, very affluent, yet it is one aspect of Abuja where I see that people will collect their refuse and drop on the road median.
“I have never seen that anywhere in the world and definitely you all agree with me that this is not acceptable and should not be part of the Abuja of our dream,” he said.
According to him, the initiative was aimed at rolling out sustainable action that will improve both the aesthetics and traffic situation along that axis and one that would be owned by the people after the Task Force might have completed its work.
Bello, however, charged the Task Force to reach out to traditional, religious and political leaders along that corridor as well trade groups, to communicate with them and have them buy into the project, which he said is for their collective benefit.
He said: “The ultimate goal of course is to have a clean environment. A clean environment means a healthy people; a healthy people mean a productive people; a productive people mean a very vibrant community. Once our community is vibrant economically, a lot of our social and political problems will be reduced.
“You have to be very diplomatic, very kind, very accommodating, very understanding as much as possible, that is why all the key departments are in this task force. If for any reasons, relocations have to be made, make sure you make alternative arrangements for whoever is going to be relocated?”
The Minister expressed confidence that given the caliber of the Chairman of the task force, and its membership, he was sure that by the time the team was done with its assignment in the next six months, the city would be the better for it.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Ministerial Task Force on Traffic Decongestion on Abuja-Nyanya-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road, Maj. Gen Emmanuel Nienge (rtd), said the task force will complete its assignment within the allotted timeframe as it has already hit the ground running and holding series of preliminary meetings with members and other stakeholders
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