NURTW PRESIDENT ADVICES AGAINST USE OF UNREGISTERED COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN FCT

The president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Gidado Hamman, has called for the abolition of unpainted and unregistered commercial vehicles popularly called Kabu Kabu in the FCT. Gidado made this call at the Abuja office of the NURTW while answering questions from news men who called at his office. He blamed the Kabu kabu operators for most of the traffic offences normally attributed to the union’s members. According to him, the operators of Kabu kabu are neither registered nor regulated by any union. This makes them to drive recklessly on the roads. He stressed that until all commercial vehicles are painted in a uniform colour of the union, the fight against commercial vehicles’ reckless driving on Abuja roads cannot be won. He also added that atrocities like kidnapping, robbery and fear of boarding of wrong vehicles being constantly entertained by commuters will be reduced with a ban on unregistered commercial vehicles. Alhaji Gidado also emphasized that the union has embarked on a series of orientation programmes to sanitize its members on road safety rules and regulations and has put in place a disciplinary committee to punish any erring member who goes against traffic laws as stipulated by the union.

On the criteria which a person should meet before being registered as a member, Gidado said any eligible member must have a valid driver’s license with certificate of competence from the Road Traffic Services’(VIO) office and must be sane with two guarantors to stand in trust for him.

On drug addiction by some commercial drivers, Gidado emphasized that the case is not treated with kid gloves by the union as a special monitoring committee is moving round all the motor parks to watch out such drivers and anybody caught will be immediately demobilized from the union. The NURTW president informed that the union is working in collaboration with the FRSC to clean the nation’s roads of reckless drivers whose activities have unfortunately claimed the lives on many innocent people. This to him will be done through the apprehension of overloaded vehicles and those that are not road worthy, and most especially, small vehicles who operate without registering with the union. He concluded that the leadership of the union was conducting a “stop and check” operation and many reckless and illegal operators are already paying for it.