Who will save FCT residents from VIO, FRSC computerized extortion?

The outcry against the antics – rather than duties – of the FCT Directorate of Road Transport Services (DRTS) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) officials may lead to crisis if the appropriate authorities do not act appropriately. Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai as the then FCT Minister reportedly gave sweeping powers to the […]

The outcry against the antics – rather than duties – of the FCT Directorate of Road Transport Services (DRTS) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) officials may lead to crisis if the appropriate authorities do not act appropriately. Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai as the then FCT Minister reportedly gave sweeping powers to the FCT DRTS also known as the Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO). So it is surprising that the same el-Rufai would wield a ‘sledge hammer’ against the Kaduna VIO.
Many residents have expressed outrage against the FRSC-VIO combo especially in Nyanya-Mararaba that is the Abuja-Keffi express road where they waylay motorists even at the peak of rush hour, amidst the ever-present hold-ups. They force many vehicles to the so-called Computerized Vehicle Inspection Centre in Kugbo.
Even travellers from neighbouring states or those using the road as transit to other states have sad tales to tell of the gangster-like attitude of the officials who are known for not listening to anyone except security operatives or other uniformed personnel. Explanation that they are on a journey and do not know of any policy of computerized vehicle inspections are ignored.
Imagine an FRSC official stopping you and after entering your car and certifying that your driving license and other ‘particulars’ are in order, for the same man to hand you over to a VIO officer for ‘more checking’ and you end up being taken to a center to use computer to certify your vehicle’s road worthiness. That you don’t have money on you, or moving to meet a pressing appointment is seen as a familiar story to their ears.
Worse still, the VIO at Kugbo use their truck to block the ever-busy road and force as many vehicles as possible to their office for the forceful inspection ranging from N2,500 to N6,000. God help you if you default. We now know that the VIO, FRSC and the Transport Secretariat of the FCTA have received over 50 petitions from the motoring public bordering on the activities of these officials.
For those who do not know, here is an experience of a lady going to work in this era of ‘change and punctuality’ as reported by the media:
“For Jane Agbo, it was her experience with VIO at Nyanya-Kugbo axis of Abuja that raised the question of whether the VIO were actually working for the interest of the public. She alleged that she was unduly harassed by the officials of the FCT Directorate of Road Transport Services (DRTS) when they stopped her for routine verification of her car papers a fortnight ago. She said even though she was in a hurry to get to work, she exercised patience and allowed the VIO officials who were working in conjunction with the FRSC to carry out their constitutional duty. Miss Agbo said what she did not like was the fact that when she renewed her vehicle papers in January this year, nobody told her that physical inspection was no longer valid.”
“It is fraudulent for VIO to issue me a certificate of road worthiness and the same VIO, in conjunction with FRSC, to force me to go and do computerized inspection. It is not as if the subsisting one has expired. It is still valid as far as I am concerned because I paid for it, to the same regulatory authorities that have now extorted N3,000 from me in the name of computerized vehicle inspection,” she lamented. She said it is innovative for the VIO to replace physical inspection with computerized testing, but wrong to use that to defraud citizens.
Are the supervisors at the FCTA aware that hundreds of vehicles were lined up for inspection and the officials who were overwhelmed by the number decided to compel some motorists to pay for the inspection and leave? The computerized vehicle inspection is an innovation introduced in the FCT in 2014 as a Public-Private-Partnership initiative between the FCTA and Temple Resources Limited. The company was mandated to build and operate six computerized vehicle inspection plazas in the FCT for a period of 15 years, after which they will be handed over to the FCTA.
However, as media reports have it, Temple Resources ended up building only two plazas in Nyanya-Kugbo and Katampe-Kubwa axes. Imagine somebody who renewed his vehicle papers in December having VIO in conjunction with FRSC stop him in January or February to go back and repeat the same check that he has a valid document for.
We have heard that the FRSC officials were paid N3,000 or more daily depending on the  numbers of vehicles they help apprehend for the VIO computerized testing. The fact that Kenechukwu Iloduba Jnr, spokesman for VIO agreed there was not enough public enlightenment before the programme started speaks volumes, how much more for travellers who could never have known of the policy.
But as at yesterday, the business enterprise in the name of computerized vehicle inspection is still ongoing. I have heard a VIO officer telling a diver that his not being paid his monthly salary is not an excuse if he can afford to buy ‘black market’ fuel for his car. Nigerians may be patient, but every stretch has limits. It is time to caution these officials before an untoward incident occurs.
Agboola wrote from, Nyanya, Abuja.