Group faults FCTA over restrictions on tricycles

An Abuja based civil right advocacy group, the Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the decision of the FCT Administration to restrict the operation of commercial tricycles to some areas in the territory. The national coordinator of HURIWA, Mr. Emmanuel Omwubiko in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the enforcement was done […]

An Abuja based civil right advocacy group, the Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the decision of the FCT Administration to restrict the operation of commercial tricycles to some areas in the territory.

The national coordinator of HURIWA, Mr. Emmanuel Omwubiko in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the enforcement was done at a time of growing unemployment, without any alternative means of transportation to commuters.

He said the restriction on the operation of commercial motorcyclists to just a few places by the minister of the FCT, Muhammad Musa Bello, was “insensitive.”

The group expressed shock that such a major policy that would inflict pain on Nigerians, doing legitimate business in the nation’s capital was adopted without a workable remedial action to mitigate the untold hardships. He said the policy infringed on Section 42 of the Nigeria Constitution.

Reacting, the consultant of the public engagement on sensitization of the transport management situation to the FCT minister, Ahmad Sajo, said the policy was well thought out and that all stakeholders were consulted and an agreement  was reached before the implementation.

“There are 60 new buses and 5,000 new taxis to join the system soon,” he said.